How to recover all the Office 2016 registration keys purchased

Question

How to recover all the Office 2016 registration keys purchased

NAFTALI HERSCOVICI 0

Hello,

I have a few old laptops and NUC computers that I had on them installed the Office 2016. I recently had to replace the harddrive (no recovery possible) and needed to reinstall Office 2016. I DO NOT WANT to install the Office 365. I just want to reinstall the Office 2016.
How can I recover these registration keys.
On my Microsoft account I have not seen any options in the purchasing section.

Thank you

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

For Office 2016, the product key is typically a one-time redemption key. After it is redeemed, it becomes linked to the Microsoft account that was used at redemption. For reinstallation, the usual path is not to recover and reuse the original key, but to sign in with the same Microsoft account and install Office from there.

Use this process:

Go to the Microsoft account dashboard and sign in with the Microsoft account that was originally associated with Office 2016.
On the Overview page, select Office apps and find the Office product to install, then select Install.
If needed, choose a different language or the 64-bit version from the dropdown, then select Install.

If Office originally came preinstalled and the drive was replaced, reinstallation is still done by using the Microsoft account associated with that copy of Office.

If the product does not appear in the account being checked, common supported possibilities are:

Office is associated with a different Microsoft account.
The copy was obtained through the Microsoft Workplace Discount Program, volume licensing, or a third-party seller, in which case the install/recovery steps can differ.
For volume license copies, product keys can be found in the admin center on the Keys tab, or support can be contacted through Help & Support in the admin center.

If Office is installed but the wrong license is attached, the key can be changed from an Office app:

Open any Office app.
Select File > Account.
Under Product Information, select Switch License.
Select Enter product key instead.
Enter the Office 2016 product key, then select Install this product instead.

Also note: Support for Office 2016 ended on October 14, 2025.

Answer 2

Hello NAFTALI HERSCOVICI,

Sorry about the drive failures, that's a hassle across several machines. If I understand correctly, you don't actually need the old keys to reinstall Office 2016, as long as each copy was linked to a Microsoft account when it was first set up. Microsoft's guidance is to reinstall through the account instead of re-entering the key. Here's what I'd try:

Sign in at https://account.microsoft.com/services with the account you used when you first installed or redeemed Office 2016.
Go to Office apps, find your Office 2016 product, and select Install. The dropdown lets you pick 64-bit or another language.
If nothing shows up, try any other Microsoft account or email address you may have used, since the copy could be linked to a different one.
If you bought it from the Microsoft Store, go to https://www.microsoftstore.com and sign in. Open Order History, find the Office purchase, and select Install Office. A window should show your product key (it doesn't start an install).
If it came through an employer's Microsoft Workplace Discount Program, the key has to be requested through that program instead.

A few caveats, since you have several devices. Office 2016 one-time purchases are licensed for one install per license, so each machine needs its own license. If you reinstall on the same device after a hardware change, you may see an activation-limit message. Microsoft's licence transfer terms and phone activation are the route there, though I'm not certain phone activation is still available for every product.

I should be upfront about one more thing. If a copy was never linked to an account (for example, it came preinstalled or from a key card you no longer have), I couldn't find any official way for Microsoft to show you the original key. In that case it may not be recoverable, and I'm sorry I can't offer a better option. For help on your specific licenses, Microsoft Support is the place to go: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contact

Also, Office 2016 support ended on October 14, 2025. It should still run, but it no longer gets security updates.

Answer 3

Hello Naftali,

Adding some practical detail to the existing replies:

Check which keys were linked to a Microsoft account. Sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/services with every Microsoft account that might have been used during setup. Any Office 2016 product redeemed through setup.office.com appears there with Install and often View product key. Reinstalling from there does not require the key.
Volume Licensing or Visual Studio (MSDN) keys are not shown in the consumer account. Check the Microsoft 365 admin center (Volume Licensing moved there from VLSC) or my.visualstudio.com > Product Keys.
Keys never linked to an account cannot be retrieved by Microsoft, and they can't be read back from failed disks. The remaining options are the purchase emails/invoices or the retailer's order history.
For any machines that still have Office 2016 working, record the partial key now for your inventory (elevated Command Prompt):

cscript "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

This shows the last 5 characters of the installed key, which helps you match machines to purchase records.

Important: Office 2016 has been out of support since October 14, 2025 (no more security updates). For machines where the key can't be recovered, Office Home 2024 or Office LTSC 2024 is the closest one-time-purchase equivalent if you prefer not to use a Microsoft 365 subscription.

If this helps, please mark it as accepted so others can find it.