How to reactivate office 2016

Question

How to reactivate office 2016

Arthur Lim 0

I switched my iMac 2017 to boot up with an external SSD Drive to speed up desktop. My office 2016 does not work anymore although I can still access office files.

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Answer 1

Hello Arthur Lim

Booting the iMac from the external SSD may have caused Office to lose its previous activation information.

Please first sign in to Microsoft Services & subscriptions using the Microsoft account originally used to redeem or purchase Office 2016. Check whether Office 2016 for Mac appears there.

Then open Word or Excel and select Sign in or Activate, and use that same Microsoft account. If the product was originally supplied with a key, do not post the key here. A key that has already been redeemed normally cannot be used again; activation must be completed through the Microsoft account linked to it.

If activation still fails, please let us know:

The exact Office 2016 edition, such as Home & Student or Home & Business
The macOS version installed on the external SSD
The complete activation error message
Whether Office 2016 appears under Services & subscriptions

Please note that Office 2016 reached the end of support on October 14, 2025. We recommend upgrading to a currently supported version of Office to continue receiving security updates and technical support.

A valid perpetual license does not automatically become invalid, but compatibility and activation support may be limited on newer macOS versions.

Please feel free reply back to this post if you need further assistance, I'll be happy to help.

Xavier-D 14,525 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-11T00:48:27.4933333+00:00

Hi Arthur Lim

I’m following up to check on the status of this issue.

Have you had an opportunity to review the answer shared earlier?

Any update you can provide would be greatly appreciated.