signing on to microsoft 365 using a mac

Sign in to Microsoft’s Services & subscriptions page with your own Microsoft account, confirm that the shared Microsoft 365 Family benefit appears, and then use that exact account to reactivate and update Office on the Mac.

1. Confirm the subscription is attached to your account

1. Open Services & subscriptions.
2. Sign in with the same email address that accepted your husband’s invitation.
3. Confirm that Microsoft 365 appears as an active subscription shared with you. Being in the family group alone does not necessarily confirm that the subscription benefit is active ^1^.
4. If Microsoft 365 does not appear, have your husband check his subscription-sharing page to ensure your invitation is accepted—not pending—and that the benefit is shared with the same email address. Removing and inviting you again does not need to be repeated. Microsoft requires the invitee to accept the invitation and remain in the subscription owner’s family group [^2^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Share your Microsoft 365 subscription | Microsoft Support").

2. Refresh Office activation on the Mac

If the shared subscription appears under your account:

1. Close every Office application using Command+Q.
2. Reopen Word or Excel.
3. Open the application’s account settings and sign out of any Microsoft accounts shown.
4. Quit the application again.
5. Reopen it and sign in with the exact account verified in Step 1.

Microsoft identifies signing in with the licensed account as the first activation step; using another address can produce a “no Office products” or inactive-account message ^3^.

3. Update Office

Your macOS 12.7.4 meets the documented minimum of macOS 12 for the licensing-related update, but Office must also be version 16.83 or later:

1. Open Word or Excel.
2. Select Help > Check for Updates.
3. In Microsoft AutoUpdate, select Update All.
4. When updates finish, quit and reopen Office.
5. Check the installed version under Word > About Word or Excel > About Excel.

Microsoft documents reduced functionality—files open but cannot be edited or saved—when older Office versions cannot receive the required licensing update ^4^.

If Office still reports no active account

Reset the cached Mac license. This removes Office license information from the Mac, so first ensure that you know the password for the licensed Microsoft account.

1. Download and run Microsoft’s Office License Removal Tool.
2. Open the downloaded .pkg file and follow the prompts.
3. After it reports that the licenses were removed, open Word.
4. Sign in with the account verified in Step 1.
5. If asked which license to use, select Microsoft 365.
6. Restart the Mac after activation succeeds.

The complete procedure and download are provided by Microsoft ^5^.

If the subscription appears correctly online but activation still fails after the license reset, run the Microsoft 365 Activation troubleshooter or contact Microsoft Support using the options in the Mac activation guide ^6^.

References

1. Access to Microsoft desktop apps with Family Sharing not working - Microsoft Q&A
2. [Share your Microsoft 365 subscription | Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID])
3. Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office | Microsoft Support
4. Update Microsoft 365 or Office on your macOS or iOS device | Microsoft Support
5. How to remove Office license files on a Mac | Microsoft Support
6. [Activation](https://support.microsoft.com/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/what-to-try-if-you-can-t-install-or-activate-office-for-mac)