How can I reinstall my Mac stand-alone Microsoft Office 2021 for home & student

Susan Shipp 0 Reputation points
2026-09-23T13:38:08.64+00:00

Trying to reinstall stand alone Home & Student Microsoft Office 2021. Went to Microsoft site, looked up how to get the stand-alone version back, found my purchase under subscriptions, but when I clicked install, it came up Microsoft 365. My Mac OS is 14.2. How do I get back to my original Office 2021?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | MacOS
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  1. DaveM121 937K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-23T14:15:13.8733333+00:00

    1

    Complete the Office installation, then open Word.

    On the top menu, select Word - About Word.

    Does that indicate it is Office 2021 or Microsoft 365 that is installed.

    2

    If it is indicated as Microsoft 365, use the process provided on this link to remove the Office licence, then restart your Mac and log back into the Office apps to test if that resolves the problem.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/how-to-remove-office-license-files-on-a-mac

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-23T13:38:24.6766667+00:00

    For a one-time purchase of Office 2021 for Mac, reinstall it from the Microsoft account that is linked to that purchase, not from the Mac App Store version.

    1. Go to the Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page and sign in with the same Microsoft account that was originally associated with Office 2021.
    2. Find the Office 2021 product and select Install.
    3. After the download finishes, open Finder > Downloads and double-click the installer package.
    4. In the installer, select Continue, review the license agreement, select Agree, then choose Install.
    5. Enter the Mac login password if prompted, then complete the installation.
    6. Open Word from Launchpad and select Get Started to begin activation.

    If the install that was downloaded is behaving like Microsoft 365, the Mac may be using the wrong Office build or old license data. In that case:

    1. Close Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
    2. Open Finder > Applications.
    3. Locate the Office apps, control-click each one, and choose Move to Trash.
    4. Reinstall Office directly from the Microsoft account page again, or use the Microsoft installer package for Mac.

    For Mac, Microsoft also provides direct installer packages. After download, open the package and complete installation. Once installed, the apps can be activated with the perpetual one-time license.

    Important: avoid using the Mac App Store version for a one-time Office Home & Student license, because the App Store version can prompt for a Microsoft 365 subscription instead of recognizing the perpetual license.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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