"My Outlook for Mac says it's offline, and my Microsoft 365 license isn't activated. My email works on my phone, but I can't access it through Outlook on my computer. I need help restoring my account without losing my email."

Use this order to restore Outlook on the Mac without affecting the mailbox data stored on the server:

1. Confirm the Microsoft 365 license on the correct account
   • Sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/services.
   • Check whether a Microsoft 365 or Office license is listed.
   • If no desktop license appears, the account may only have web access, not desktop app rights.
2. If this is a work or school account, check with the administrator
   • A work or school Microsoft 365 account might not have been assigned a desktop app license yet.
   • In that case, the license must be set up by the organization.
3. Sign out and sign back in with the licensed account
   • If Outlook cannot activate, sign out and then sign in again with the account that owns the Microsoft 365 subscription.
   • If needed, choose Sign in with another account.
4. Make sure Outlook is not set to Work Offline
   • In Outlook for Mac, open the Outlook menu.
   • If Work Offline is checked, select it to turn offline mode off.
5. Verify the Exchange account settings
   • In Outlook for Mac, go to Tools > Accounts.
   • Select the account and verify the credentials and server settings.
   • A quick check is to try the same account in Outlook on the web. If web access works, the mailbox itself is still available.
6. Check the network connection on the Mac
   • Make sure the Mac is connected to the network and can open websites.
   • Since mail works on the phone, this points more to the Mac app, account settings, or activation state than to mailbox loss.
7. If activation still fails, use Microsoft’s activation troubleshooting guidance
   • If Office keeps asking to activate, verify again that the signed-in account is the one tied to the subscription.

Important: these steps do not delete email from the mailbox. Email for Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts remains on the server, so checking activation, signing in again, or turning off offline mode does not remove the mailbox contents.

If the issue is specifically that Outlook for Mac shows a license error for a work or school account, the supported options are:

• get a license that includes the desktop apps,
• add another properly licensed account to activate Outlook for Mac,
• or use Outlook on the web until licensing is corrected.

References:

• Activation
• I can't connect to my Exchange account in Outlook for Mac | Microsoft Support
• How licensing and access works in Outlook for Mac | Microsoft Support
• Fix Outlook connection problems for Microsoft 365 account