Paid Licensed Product

Sign in to both Office and OneDrive with the exact Microsoft account that owns the active Microsoft 365 subscription, then run the activation troubleshooter if Office remains unlicensed.

1. Verify the subscription and account

1. Close Word, Excel, Outlook, and the other Office applications.
2. Open the Microsoft Services & subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services
3. Sign in with the email address used to purchase Microsoft 365.
4. Confirm that Microsoft 365 appears under Subscriptions and shows as active—not expired or cancelled.
5. Open Word and select File → Account.
6. Under User Information, sign out of any different account, and then sign in with the account from step 3.

Using another email address—even one belonging to the same person—can make Office report that it cannot find a licensed product.^1^

If the subscription does not appear, check any other personal email addresses that might have been used during purchase. If a retailer, Apple, or Google billed the subscription, select Manage on the Services & subscriptions page; subscription management may be handled by that provider.[^2^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Switch between Microsoft 365 subscriptions")

2. Repair Office activation on Windows

If the subscription is active under the correct account but the applications remain unlicensed:

1. On the affected Windows PC, open Microsoft’s activation support page below.
2. Start the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter.
3. When prompted that the website wants to open Get Help, select Open.
4. Complete the prompts, restart an Office application, and check File → Account for an activated product.

The troubleshooter must run on the PC containing the affected installation and requires Windows 10 or later.^1^

If activation still fails:

• Check Windows Settings → Time & language → Date & time and enable automatic time and time-zone settings.
• Open Control Panel → Programs → Programs and Features, search for “Office,” and remove an older or duplicate Office installation. Restart afterward.
• Update the remaining Office installation.
• If necessary, run an Online Repair from the installed-app options.^1^

3. Verify the OneDrive storage separately

Office activation and OneDrive storage use the same subscription identity, but each application can be signed in to a different account.

1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. Select Help & Settings → Settings → Account.
3. Check that the displayed email address exactly matches the account holding the active subscription.
4. Sign in to OneDrive on the web with that same account and review its storage.
5. If desktop OneDrive uses a different account, select Unlink this PC, then sign in again using the subscription account. Unlinking does not delete files already stored online.^3^

If someone else shared a Microsoft 365 subscription with this account, the invitation must first be accepted. Storage may then take up to two hours to update; refresh Manage storage afterward.[^4^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription")

4. Escalate an account-entitlement mismatch

Contact Microsoft Support if all three conditions are true:

• Services & subscriptions shows the paid plan as active.
• Office and OneDrive are signed in with that exact account.
• The activation troubleshooter does not restore the license or the online OneDrive account still shows the wrong allowance.

Choose Personal account and then Microsoft technical support for activation or account-and-billing assistance.^5^ Have the purchase date, order confirmation, plan name, and the account email available, but do not post those details publicly.

References

1. Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office | Microsoft Support
2. [Switch between Microsoft 365 subscriptions](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID])
3. Microsoft 365 is not backing up to my 1tb storage. - Microsoft Q&A
4. [Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID])
5. Contact Microsoft customer support | Microsoft Support