Third device in my family subscription keeps asking for Product Key

Question

Third device in my family subscription keeps asking for Product Key

Minz 0

My family subscription permits me to use it on five devices. So far, the two devices (this laptop and my PC) have had no problem. Last month, I just shared the subscription to a third device --the laptop of my niece. My account shows that my subscription now uses three devices -- showing the details of my niece's laptop as the third one. My question is this, everytime my niece turns on her laptop, the system keeps asking her for a product key. Also, she cannot use any program (such as Word, Excel or Powerpoint) in the subscription. Please help

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3 answers

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Answer 1

Is your niece signed in with her associated Microsoft account? Does that resolve the activation / licensing issue?

She can only sign in successfully if you shared the subscription with her using the steps at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accounts-billing/subscriptions/share-your-microsoft-365-subscription and if she then followed the steps to accept the invite and install; see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accounts-billing/subscriptions/someone-invited-you-to-share-their-microsoft-365-subscription .

If something appears to be wrong with the subscription share, you can un-invite her and then create a new invite.

Answer 2

Hi Minz,

One more thing worth checking on your niece’s laptop, in addition to the steps above. A product key prompt on a new laptop often comes from a preinstalled or older Office version.
It can conflict with the subscription even after she signs in. If signing in to Word doesn’t fix it:

On her laptop, open Settings => Apps => Installed apps and check which Office entry is listed (for example “Microsoft 365”, “Office Home & Student”, etc).

Uninstall any Office or Microsoft 365 entries you see there, since you’ll reinstall the right one in a moment.

Never enter a product key. The subscription is activated by the account, not by a key.

If that doesn’t fix it, reply here with what you see.

Answer 3

Microsoft 365 Family does not use a product key for a family member’s device after sharing. The product key is only for the initial redemption. For the niece’s laptop, Office should be activated by signing in with the Microsoft account that accepted the family sharing invitation.

Try this:

Confirm the sharing is active.
- The subscription owner can verify that the niece is included in the family group and that sharing is active.
- Sharing can be used with up to five other people in the family group.
On the niece’s laptop, sign in with the correct Microsoft account.
- Open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
- Go to File > Account.
- Sign out of any accounts shown there.
- Close all Office apps.
- Reopen an app and sign in with the Microsoft account that accepted the shared Microsoft 365 Family invitation.
- Expected result: Office should show the subscription through the shared Family plan instead of asking for a product key.
If the product key prompt still appears, reinstall from the signed-in account.
- On the niece’s laptop, sign in to the Microsoft account that accepted the invitation.
- Go to the Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page and install Office from there.
- Do not try to enter a product key again. A redeemed key cannot be reused or shared.
If needed, remove and re-add the sharing.
- Remove the niece from the family sharing setup.
- Send a new sharing invitation.
- Have her accept it with the same Microsoft account she will use inside Office.
- Then sign in again in the Office apps on her laptop.

Important details for this scenario:

Seeing the niece’s laptop listed under devices means the subscription sharing is recognized, but Office activation on that laptop still depends on signing in with the correct Microsoft account.
Do not share the product key with family members. Product keys cannot be used to share a Microsoft 365 Family subscription.
If Office was preinstalled on the niece’s laptop, the app may show a trial or activation screen. In that case, signing in with the shared Microsoft account or reinstalling from the Services & subscriptions page usually resolves it.

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