my publisher is not activated even though I have Microsoft 365 subscription that includes the Publisher

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my publisher is not activated even though I have Microsoft 365 subscription that includes the Publisher

David Griffiths 20

I have contacted Office tech support and did TS. However, it is still not activated even cscript, uninstall all oldremnants and and reinstalling Office apps. Other Office apps activated and only publisher is the issue. Please assist with me with this issue and I've send a screenshot.

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Answer accepted by question author

DaveM121 (2) 17,800 Volunteer Moderator

Microsoft announced months ago that they were deprecating the Publisher app beginning on October 1 this year, that is the most likely cause of the problem if all other Office apps are correctly activated, Publisher has gone into Read Only mode before it is removed from your Microsoft 365 installation.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/microsoft-publisher-will-no-longer-be-supported-after-october-2026

David Griffiths 20 Reputation points

2026-10-18T22:27:15.5733333+00:00

Yes I eventually found this out. I am VERY annoyed that the Microsoft support person wasted almost two hours of my time and did know this. I am also VERY annoyed that Microsoft would deprecate a useful app and top from working rather than just stopping updates.
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3 additional answers

David Griffiths 20 Reputation points

2026-10-18T22:27:15.5733333+00:00

Yes I eventually found this out. I am VERY annoyed that the Microsoft support person wasted almost two hours of my time and did know this. I am also VERY annoyed that Microsoft would deprecate a useful app and top from working rather than just stopping updates.
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Answer 1

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Answer 2

Bulldog 5,510

Microsoft announced in 2024 that Publisher would be removed from Microsoft 365 in October, 2026.

Your .pub files have not been removed. You just need to find another way to open them.

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Answer 3

Since Word, Excel, and the other Microsoft 365 apps are activated, focus on refreshing the license state for the installed Office copy rather than repeating general repair steps.

In Publisher, select Update License from the yellow Activation Required banner shown in the screenshot.
- This refreshes the subscription status for the installed Office apps.
If that does not resolve it, sign out of Office, close all Microsoft 365 apps, then reopen an app and sign back in with the Microsoft account that owns the subscription.
- Microsoft’s activation guidance states that using the wrong account can cause Office to show that no products were found.
- Verify the subscription is listed under Services & subscriptions at https://account.microsoft.com/services.
Confirm there is only one Office installation on the PC.
- Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
- Search for office.
- If more than one version appears, uninstall the version not being used, restart the PC, and test Publisher again.
Check that the Microsoft 365 subscription is still active.
- Close all Microsoft 365 apps.
- Go to Services & subscriptions.
- Review the entry under Subscriptions or Cancelled subscriptions.
- If expired, renew it, then restart the apps.
Run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter on the same Windows PC.
- Click Open if prompted that the site is trying to open Get Help.
- Follow the prompts.
- This requires Windows 10 or later.
If the troubleshooter does not fix it, do a full uninstall and reinstall using Microsoft’s uninstall tool.
- This is more thorough than a normal uninstall.
- Use the uninstall troubleshooter, restart when prompted, then reinstall Microsoft 365.
- Note: the uninstall troubleshooter currently cannot uninstall Office 2024.
If the issue started suddenly after previously working, select Reactivate if shown, or sign out of all Microsoft 365 apps including Outlook, close them, restart an app, and sign back in.

If Publisher alone still remains unactivated after these steps, the supported guidance in the available documentation is to verify the subscription/account and then use the activation troubleshooter or complete uninstall/reinstall path.