Office Version Obtained in 2017 No Longer Allows Full Functionality

Regina Litman 20 Reputation points
2026-09-28T01:25:02.4933333+00:00

I got a rude surprise when I got on my Dell computer, bought on March 12, 2017, still running Windows 10, earlier today, Sunday, September 27. The first hint was that the icons for Excel and Word were no longer on the bottom taskbar. But I sometimes remove these by mistake, so I figured that is what happened. And in fact, I was able to get them back on the taskbar.

But when I opened documents in both programs, I was greeted with a splash screen telling me, "You're currently in read and print only mode. Once you buy Microsoft 365 you'll be able to create and edit files." I was last on this computer on Thursday, September 24.

Whoa! I've had a legally obtained version of Microsoft Office since March 12, 2017, or shortly after that date. Now, here is where things may get a bit sticky. The company where I worked at the time had a deal for employees where we could get Microsoft Office for our personal computers, either for free or a very low amount. I took advantage of this deal, and that is what has been running on my computer ever since then. I retired later that year. I asked the company if this deal also applied to retirees. I was told that it didn't, but since I already had the product, I could keep it.

But now all of a sudden, I am being asked to buy the product all over again, unless I can supply a product key. Is this a known sunset for older versions of Office? I'm a retiree, and I have to watch my finances more carefully. I haven't even gotten a newer computer in this time period. If I got a product key back in March 2017, it's probably somewhere I don't remember.

So if anyone can give me advice on this, please let me know. Some things about me:

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Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows
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Answer accepted by question author
Kai-H 28,525 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-09-28T08:46:17.89+00:00

Hi, Regina Litman

This looks like an activation issue, not a September 2026 cutoff: Office 2016 reached end of support in 2025, but that did not automatically switch it to read-only mode.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Open Word and select File > Account. Note the exact product name under Product Information and the account shown there. That will help distinguish the Office copy you obtained through work from a Microsoft 365 installation or trial.

If it says Office Professional Plus 2016, check the Workplace Discount Program order-history page using the work email address you used in 2017. That is the route for retrieving keys from purchases made before November 30, 2018. If you no longer have access to that mailbox, ask your former employer’s benefits or IT team whether they can help confirm the purchase and its terms.

If you still have a valid license but activation fails, follow the Unlicensed Product and activation errors guidance before buying anything. Don’t uninstall Office until you’ve confirmed how you can reactivate it.

One important distinction: the old Home Use Program had employment-related conditions, so the advice you received when you retired is worth checking against the terms of your particular offer. The read-only message alone does not establish what happened to your license.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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