Help with my Microsoft 365 (macOS)

Nick Monroe 20 Reputation points
2026-09-16T18:20:23.4+00:00

My Microsoft 365 stopped working on two of my three desktop computers. One is just fine. How do I re-activate my subscription for the other two.

Moderator note: thread updated with operating system (macOS)

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | Other | MacOS
Answer accepted by question author
Stefan Blom 352.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2026-09-16T18:26:59.8633333+00:00

Are you saying that you have one subscription and you are trying that subscription to install and activate Office on three computers? That should definitely work.

How is the PC on which activation fails different from the other two? The first thing to check is the account info at File > Account. Is the correct account (e-mail address) specified? Note that since this is a public forum, you mustn't post the e-mail here.

For more on activation issues, have a look at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/office-install/activate-office-for-windows#bkmk_tshoot .

Note that the info in this Answer applies to Office for Windows. See my other Answer for info that applies to Office for Mac.

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  1. Stefan Blom 352.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-16T23:39:47.6733333+00:00

    Well they are all Mac desktops ... the one working is relatively new. The other two which I use - one is very new bought in May of this year ... the other maybe ten years old (it use to work but it runs on macOS Big Sur version 11.7.11 and it can't update) which could be a lot of my problem. I wish I had a local IT person I could use.

    I'm afraid that Microsoft Office won't run under macOS versions older than 12. This started with the mid July updates from Microsoft. You will need an Office license that lets you install version 16.83 or later and you need macOS 12 or later.

    Since you have a subscription, the Office license won't be a problem, but the version of macOS definitely is.

    For more, see https://www.brandwares.com/bestpractices/2023/03/most-recent-office-you-can-run-best-practices/ .

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  2. Stefan Blom 352.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-16T18:48:48.9766667+00:00

    My Microsoft 365 stopped working on two of my three desktop computers. One is just fine. How do I re-activate my subscription for the other two.

    On the Mac where activation fails, sign out. Quit all Office apps. Restart your Mac. Sign back in. Does that fix the activation issue?

    See the support article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/account-management/sign-out-of-office (the screen shot below is from the article).

    If you need more troubleshooting with regards to activation, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/what-to-try-if-you-can-t-install-or-activate-office-for-mac .

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