Using older versions of Outlook for Mac for personal email and calendar
The license number cannot be viewed in Office or online.
For Office 2021 for Mac, the Microsoft account associated with the purchase replaces the product key for reinstall and activation. To reinstall after a drive failure:
- Sign in to the Microsoft account that was used to buy and redeem Office.
- Go to the Microsoft account, Services & subscriptions page.
- Reinstall Office from there.
- Open an Office app and sign in with that same account to activate.
If Office is already installed but activation is stuck on the wrong license, check which license the app is using:
- Open Word or another Office app.
- Go to the Word menu and select About Word.
- The dialog shows the version number and license type.
If old or incorrect license data is causing the problem, the Mac license removal tool can remove all Microsoft 365 for Mac licenses from the Mac, after which Office can be activated again by signing in with the correct account. Important: have the correct account name and password ready before using it.
If the apps were installed from the Mac App Store, a one-time Office 2021 license is not compatible with those apps. In that case, remove the App Store apps and reinstall the Office apps downloaded directly from Microsoft.
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