can't find office product key

B B 0 Reputation points
2026-09-29T23:13:32.55+00:00

My Office 2016 worked fine and now it's asking for a login or product key, ideally from Microsoft 365, which I've never bought. I did by an Office Home and Business 2016. it looks like something has updated and there is no workaround. Worse, the product keys that I actually paid for are no longer visible in the MS Store so I can't get them this way either, which is about the most brain-dead UI change possible because it guarantees a support call when something like this happens. It does work even better in that the only help available is done by asking for the "xxx Office Product Key" on any search screen where xxx is "find" "search" "locate" "where is" or a large number of other strings possible, all of which require logging in yet again to the Microsoft account to see the result.

A quick call to support yields that result that I can't get phone support or reach anyone except through the web, which is not useful. It's like writing this question, which also requires a tag to be entered, but it's clear that it prefers to have the user generate a tag using the AI, which it won't do unless you click the button to generate the tags.

All I need is the MS product key to actually enter into the MS Office product that is asking for it.

SO, has anyone found a way to get the Microsoft Office product key to display itself so i can get out of this support hell experience?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-29T23:13:48.3833333+00:00

    No. The full Office product key cannot be displayed inside Office, and it is not displayed online in the Microsoft account dashboard.

    For Office 2016, the supported path is:

    1. Open an Office app.
    2. Go to File > Account.
    3. Check the email address shown after Belongs to below the product name.
    4. Sign in to Services & subscriptions with that same Microsoft account and reinstall Office from there.

    If Office says This product key has already been used, that means the key was already redeemed and is no longer needed. After redemption, Office 2016 is tied to the Microsoft account used during setup, and that account is what is used to reinstall and activate Office.

    If the copy was bought from the Microsoft Store and has not been installed yet, the product key can be viewed in Microsoft Store Order History by selecting Install Office for that purchase. If it was already installed and redeemed, the key is not the path for reactivation.

    If the product key no longer works, Microsoft guidance is to contact the seller and request a refund, because separately sold keys are often blocked when they were stolen or fraudulently obtained.

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

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  2. Thomas4-N 22,380 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-03T13:47:15.2566667+00:00

    Hello B B,

    I understand why you want the product key, especially when Office 2016 worked before and the key no longer appears where you expected it in the Store. You should not need to buy Microsoft 365 just to check a copy of Office Home & Business 2016 that you already purchased.

    If the key was redeemed previously, Microsoft says Office 2016 can be activated by signing in with the Microsoft account used to buy or set it up, rather than entering the key again. Could you check whether Office Home & Business 2016 appears under Services & subscriptions for that account?

    I also wouldn’t rule out seeing a key online in every case: Microsoft documents a View product key option for certain one-time-purchase Office installations, though I can’t tell whether it applies to your purchase. If Office 2016 is listed but still won’t activate, please share the exact wording of the activation prompt, without posting a product key or account details. That will help distinguish a sign-in problem from a different activation issue.

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