Office 2024

First verify that the Office 2024 entitlement bundled with the Windows laptop is listed as a transferable Office product for Mac; if it is, install it from that entitlement rather than from the Mac App Store.

1. Check the exact licence attached to the account

1. On the MacBook, open the Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services/
2. Sign in with the same Hotmail/Microsoft account used to activate Office on the Windows laptop.
3. Under Products you’ve purchased, note the complete product name.

Then apply the matching case:

• Office Home 2024 or Office Home & Business 2024, with an Install option: continue below. A one-time Office 2024 purchase can be installed on one PC or Mac and transferred to another computer belonging to you, generally no more than once every 90 days. Office must be removed from the previous computer, which you have already done.^1^
• No Office 2024 product appears, or the entry does not offer Mac installation: installation troubleshooting will not fix the licence. Because this copy came bundled with a laptop, its exact terms may differ from a separately purchased retail copy. Check the purchase paperwork or ask Microsoft Support/the laptop seller to confirm whether that specific entitlement includes Mac and transfer rights.
• If it appears under a different Microsoft account, sign out and use that account instead.

2. Install the Mac version from Microsoft

Do not use Word, Excel, or PowerPoint downloaded from the Mac App Store. Those versions require a Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscription and can produce this activation problem with a perpetual licence.^2^

1. Close all Office applications.
2. In Finder → Applications, Control-click Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, then select Move to Trash.
3. Return to the Office 2024 entry under Services & subscriptions and select Install.
4. Alternatively, use Microsoft’s direct Office 2024 for Mac Installer: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2268730
5. Open Finder → Downloads, double-click Microsoft Office installer.pkg, and complete the installation.
6. Open Word from Launchpad, select Get Started, and sign in with the same Hotmail/Microsoft account containing the Office 2024 entitlement.^3^

The installer or application may display “Microsoft 365,” but activation with the eligible Office 2024 account determines the licence applied.

If activation still says “License Not Found”

Clear cached licensing data before reinstalling again:

1. Quit every Office application.
2. Download and run Microsoft’s Office License Removal Tool: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=849815
3. Reopen Word and sign in with the Microsoft account containing Office 2024.
4. In Word, select Help → Check for Updates → Update All.^4^

This removes stored Office licensing information, not your Word documents or Excel workbooks.

If it reports the activation limit instead

If Services & subscriptions shows a transferable Office 2024 licence but activation says the maximum number of activations has been reached:

1. Open the Office Activation Wizard.
2. Choose the telephone activation option.
3. Complete the prompts to activate Office on the Mac.
4. Confirm that Office remains uninstalled from the original Windows laptop.

Microsoft documents telephone activation for moving a one-time Office licence to another computer.^5^

If telephone activation is not offered, contact Microsoft activation support and provide the exact product name shown under Services & subscriptions. Ask them to confirm that the laptop-bundled entitlement is transferable from Windows to macOS; do not purchase Microsoft 365 unless the account check establishes that the bundled Office licence is ineligible.

References

1. Transfer your Office license to another device or another person | Microsoft Support
2. Deploy Office for Mac from the Mac App Store
3. [Install on a Mac](https://support.microsoft.com/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/download-install-or-reinstall-microsoft-365-or-office-2024-on-a-pc-or-mac)
4. End of support for Office 2019 for Mac | Microsoft Support
5. Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device | Microsoft Support