unlicensed product

“Unlicensed Product” means Excel cannot verify an active Office license, so sign in with the account that owns Office and confirm the product appears under that account.

Fix the activation

1. Check which account owns Office
   • Close Excel and other Office applications.
   • Open the Microsoft Services & subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services
   • Sign in with the Microsoft account used to purchase, redeem, or initially activate Office.
   • Confirm that Microsoft 365, Office Home & Student, Office Home & Business, or another Office product is listed.
   • Open Excel and select File → Account → Sign in, then use that same account.
   If the product is not listed, try any other personal account that may have been used for the purchase. A work or school license requires the corresponding organizational account. ^1^
2. Check the license status
   • For Microsoft 365, look under Subscriptions or Cancelled subscriptions.
   • If it has expired, renew it and restart Excel.
   • For a one-time purchase such as Office 2024 or 2021, verify that the product is listed; it does not require a Microsoft 365 subscription.
3. If you have a new product key, redeem it first
   • Go to https://setup.office.com/
   • Enter the key and associate it with your Microsoft account.
   • After redemption, install Office from that account and sign in to Excel with it. Redeeming the key is a one-time process. ^2^
4. Remove conflicting Office installations
   • Open Control Panel → Programs → Programs and Features.
   • Search for Office.
   • If multiple Office versions are installed, uninstall the version you do not use.
   • Restart Windows, open Excel, and sign in again.
   Multiple Office installations can conflict with activation. Uninstalling Office applications does not remove Excel workbooks, but keep normal backups of important files. ^1^

If Excel remains unlicensed

• Run Online Repair:
  Settings → Apps → Installed apps → Microsoft 365 or Office → three dots → Modify → Online Repair → Repair, and then restart Windows.
• If you use Microsoft 365 on Windows 10 or later, run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter from the Microsoft Support page on the affected PC.
• Verify Windows has the correct date, time, and time zone:
  Settings → Time & language → Date & time → Set time automatically.
• If only Excel is affected while Word is activated, open Word → File → Account, note the licensed account, and sign Excel into that same account.

If it still fails, record the exact message or error code shown under Excel → File → Account; that identifies the next activation-specific action.

References

1. Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office | Microsoft Support
2. Activate Office for Windows | Microsoft Support