Need to deactivate installation on computers that are long gone

Hello Craig Bourne,

Office 2019 is normally licensed for one computer, and replacing the computer can cause the activation system to treat the new installation as an additional device.

Important note: If your copy of Office is an OEM licence that came preinstalled on the computer, it is tied to the original device and cannot be transferred to a new computer. In that case, you would need to purchase a new Office licence for the new device. If it is not an OEM licence, you can try the following steps:

1. Sign in to your Microsoft account’s Services & subscriptions page using the account originally used to redeem Office. Confirm that Office 2019 appears there.
2. If the old computer is still available, uninstall Office from it. One-time-purchase editions do not have the same online sign-out option as Microsoft 365, so Office must be removed directly from the old computer.
3. Return to the Services & subscriptions page on the new computer and install Office from there rather than redeeming or entering the product key again.
4. Open Word and follow the activation prompts. If you are required to reactivate Office, try using the Microsoft Product Activation Portal and follow the on-screen instructions. If you see Contact support to transfer your license to this device, select it.

Alternatively, you can contact Microsoft Support following the steps below and ask whether they can help transfer or reset the activation. Since this is a user-to-user forum, we cannot access or reset activation records from here. We can only provide suggestions based on the available information and our own experience.

Please also note that support for Office 2019 ended on October 14, 2025. It may continue to work, but it no longer receives regular technical support. However, you can still try reaching out to Microsoft Support to see whether they have any advice for you.

1.  Go to: https://support.microsoft.com/home/contact
2. In the search box, enter a short description of your issue, then choose "Get Help"
3. Scroll down and select Sign in to contact support (please sign in using a personal Microsoft account). Then follow the on-screen prompts to reach Support Team.

Tips:

• Support chat availability may vary by country/region, product, and support hours. If you can't get in touch with a chat agent right away, trying again later or at a different time may help.
• If the support page directs you to the automated assistant, type “I need a live agent” in the chat.

Hopefully your issue will be sorted out soon. Thank you so much for your patience!