No License Found — Your Office 2021 license is not supported with this version of the application.”

Uninstall Office 16.114.2, install the earlier Office 16.113.4 package, temporarily disable automatic updates, and then activate with the Microsoft account that owns your Office Home & Student 2021 license.

The same activation message has been reported for Office Home & Student 2021 on recent Office for Mac builds, with 16.113 recommended as the working version.^1^ Microsoft’s release history confirms that 16.114.2 is the October 26, 2026 build and that its release stream also applies to Office 2021 one-time purchases.^2^

Install the compatible version

1. Confirm that you know the Microsoft account credentials associated with the purchase.
2. Remove the existing Office license files.
   • Quit all Office applications.
   • Download and run Microsoft’s Office License Removal Tool.
   • Select Continue, complete the wizard, and select Install when prompted.
   • This removes Office licenses from the Mac, so you must sign in again afterward.^3^
3. Uninstall Office 16.114.2.
   • Open Finder → Applications.
   • Select Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and any other installed Office applications.
   • Control-click and select Move to Bin.
   • Restart the Mac. Microsoft documents the complete cleanup procedure, including optional removal of user Library files.^4^
   If Outlook is installed, back up its data before following the full Library-cleanup procedure because deleting the listed Outlook containers can remove local Outlook data.
4. Install Office 16.113.4 (October 6, 2026). Download Microsoft’s Office suite installer without Teams: https://res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft/mro1cdnstorage/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.113.26100421_Installer.pkg Open the downloaded .pkg, select Continue → Agree → Install, and enter the Mac administrator password when requested. Version 16.113.4 and this package are listed in Microsoft’s Office for Mac release history.^2^
5. Prevent an immediate update back to 16.114.x.
   • Open Word.
   • Select Help → Check for Updates.
   • In Microsoft AutoUpdate, clear Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date.
   • Confirm by selecting Turn Off.
   This is temporary mitigation; older releases may miss subsequent security fixes. Re-enable updates when Microsoft releases a build that activates Office 2021 correctly.
6. Activate Office 2021.
   • Open Word from Applications or Launchpad.
   • Select Get Started if displayed.
   • Sign in with the exact Microsoft account under which Office Home & Student 2021 appears in Services & Subscriptions.
   • Confirm activation under Word → About Word; it should identify the Office 2021 perpetual-license product rather than requesting Microsoft 365.^5^

If 16.113 still does not activate

Use Microsoft’s activation troubleshooting only after testing the rollback:

• In Finder → Go → Computer → Macintosh HD → Library, inspect PrivilegedHelperTools. If it has a red stop icon or is inaccessible, correct its permissions using Microsoft’s documented procedure.^6^
• Confirm that /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper exists. Perpetual Office for Mac installations use this helper; it is not installed when Office applications come from the Mac App Store.^7^
• If activation still fails, contact Microsoft Support and request verification or reset of the Office 2021 activation association. Provide the purchase date, the account showing the redeemed product, macOS version, installed build 16.113.4 (26100421), and the exact error text.

A Microsoft 365 subscription is not required to carry out this recovery for the existing Office Home & Student 2021 license.

References

1. Office Home & Student 2021 - Microsoft Q&A
2. Update history for Office for Mac
3. How to remove Office license files on a Mac
4. Uninstall Office for Mac
5. Office for Mac 2021
6. Activation
7. Licensing helper tool