Office 2024 Included with Laptop but Displays License Warning

Ukr Kind Teacher 0 Reputation points
2026-10-11T09:14:16.41+00:00

Hi everyone,

My mother is a kindergarten teacher, and her school recently received a laptop that came with Office Home & Business 2024 included.

The laptop had previously been used by another teacher. She was apparently unaware that Office was already included and may have installed a different copy of Office instead. The installation was very slow and may not have been a genuine version.

We are now trying to use the included Office license, but we keep getting a message stating that the license is not genuine.

To rule out any issues caused by previously installed software, we performed a complete Windows reinstallation. Unfortunately, the problem persists.

On the Office account/help page, the product appears as activated. However, on the main Office page, there is still a banner at the top indicating that the license is not genuine.

The installation was downloaded directly from the Microsoft Store. I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling Office, but the result is the same.

Could anyone please advise what might be causing this issue and what steps we can take to resolve it?

I have attached a couple of screenshots (in Ukrainian) that should help illustrate the problem.

Thank you in advance for your help.Office LTSC Standard 2021

Error Activation

Store - Office for Home and Business 2024

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Windows
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  1. Rukshan edirisinghe 1,645 Reputation points
    2026-10-12T08:38:06.7833333+00:00

    Hi @Ukr Kind Teacher

    Thank you for the screenshots, they show the cause clearly. Under Product Information, the Office that's activated is Microsoft Office LTSC Standard 2021, not the Office Home & Business 2024 that came with the laptop. LTSC Standard is a volume-license edition for organizations, and that's the copy Office is flagging as not genuine. So the included 2024 license is probably fine, it just isn't the one being used.

    To switch over to the genuine one:

    1. Make sure your mother's documents are saved somewhere safe (OneDrive or a USB drive). Removing Office doesn't delete documents, but it's good to be careful.
    2. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft Office LTSC Standard 2021 and uninstall it. Restart the laptop.
    3. Open the Microsoft Store, go to Library and select the "Included with device" tab. Install Office Home & Business 2024 from there.
    4. When Office asks, sign in with the Microsoft account that should own the license, ideally one the school controls.

    If the 2021 version keeps coming back after a Windows reinstall, it's likely being reinstalled from the same unofficial installer, so it's best not to use that installer again.

    After uninstalling, does the Office 2024 offer still show under "Included with device", or does it say it's already been used?

    If this resolved your issue, please consider accepting it as the answer. If the Store says the offer was already redeemed, let me know and I'll be happy to keep helping.

    Reference:

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