Activation of my account

Sign in to Services & subscriptions with the Microsoft account used for the purchase, because the paid Microsoft 365 subscription must appear there before the Office apps can activate.

Activate the subscription

1. Close Word, Excel, Outlook, and all other Microsoft 365 apps.
2. Open Services & subscriptions.
3. Sign in with the email address used to purchase Microsoft 365.
4. Under Subscriptions, check that Microsoft 365 is listed as Active and that its expiration date is correct. Microsoft confirms that an account not showing the subscription cannot activate Office with that account.^1^
5. Open Word or Excel and sign in with that same Microsoft account. If another account appears, sign out of it first and then sign in with the account displaying the active subscription.

If the subscription is not listed

• Try any other personal email address that may have been used during checkout.
• If Microsoft 365 was purchased as a physical box or retail card, payment alone does not start the subscription. Enter the product key from the card or follow the redemption link in the purchase email.[^2^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID]'re-still-getting-notifications-after-renewing-or-buying-microsoft-365 "A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application | Microsoft Support")
• If the payment completed but the subscription is missing from every account, contact Microsoft Support so an agent can verify the payment and associate it with the correct account. Do not post receipts, card details, or account information publicly.

If it is active but Office remains unlicensed

On Windows 10 or later, run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter from the official activation-error page on the affected computer. Select the troubleshooter button, allow it to open Get Help, and complete the prompts.^1^

References

1. Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office | Microsoft Support
2. [A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application | Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID]'re-still-getting-notifications-after-renewing-or-buying-microsoft-365)