problem when use office app with university account

Busein BKm 0 Reputation points
2026-09-22T01:56:37.51+00:00

I’m hoping to get fix on an issue that started happening yesterday. I am using an Office account provided by my university, and it has been working normally for a long time.

However, yesterday, whenever I open any Office app (Word, Excel, etc.), I am hit with a prompt stating that I need to purchase a license to continue using the software, and my editing features seem to be locked.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For education | MacOS
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  1. BabybooHN 3,290 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-22T03:18:26.7833333+00:00

    Dear @Busein BKm

    I understand how frustrating this is, especially since your university Office account was working normally until yesterday.

    This sounds like an Office activation/licensing issue rather than a problem with your documents. If Office cannot verify the license assigned to your university account, it can enter reduced functionality mode and disable editing. Please refer to this document: Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office

    Please try the following:

    1. Open Word or Excel and go to File > Account.
    2. Check which account is shown under User Information. Make sure it is your university email address, not a personal Microsoft account.
    3. Select Sign out, close all Office applications, reopen Word, and sign in again with your university account. Microsoft recommends using the work/school account associated with the Office license. Please refer to this document: Sign in to Microsoft 365
    4. If the issue remains, sign in to Microsoft 365 on the web with your university account and check whether Word/Excel can be used online. If the web apps work but the desktop apps still show a license prompt, this further points to a desktop activation or licensing issue.
    5. If your university provides IT support, please ask them to confirm that your account still has an active license that includes the desktop versions of Microsoft 365 Apps. Microsoft specifically recommends contacting the organization’s Microsoft 365 administrator or IT department for work/school licensing issues. Please refer to this document: A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application

    I would not purchase a personal Microsoft 365 subscription yet, because your university may simply need to restore or reassign the appropriate license to your account.

    If you can provide the exact wording of the license/purchase prompt (or a screenshot with your email address hidden), I can narrow down the cause and the next step.

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