Microsoft 365 not working

Sophia Brown 0 Reputation points
2026-11-06T16:19:55.2133333+00:00

I have Microsoft 365 with updated subscription but I am unable to use word or excel what do I do?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-11-06T16:20:12.77+00:00

    Try these steps in order:

    1. Confirm the subscription is active and the correct account is signed in
      • Go to Services & subscriptions and sign in with the Microsoft account linked to the subscription.
      • Verify that Microsoft 365 appears as active.
      • If Word or Excel still shows limited features, make sure the apps are signed in with that same account.
    2. Check whether the subscription problem is payment-related
      • If Office shows an Account Notice about the subscription, go to Payment options and update any expired or failed payment method.
      • Then restart Word or Excel.
    3. Update Office on Windows
      • Open Word.
      • Go to File > Account.
      • Under Product Information, select Update Options > Update Now.
      • If Update Now is not visible, select Enable Updates first.
      • If Update Options is missing and only About appears, the installation may be volume-licensed or managed by policy.
    4. If subscription features are missing
      • For Microsoft 365 Personal or Family, check Services & subscriptions again.
      • If the subscription is active but features still are not available, sign out of Office and sign back in with the subscription account.
    5. If Office still will not work after that
      • Completely uninstall and reinstall Microsoft 365. This is a common next step when Office is installed but not activating or opening correctly.
      • After reinstalling, sign in with the same Microsoft account that owns the subscription.

    If the issue is on a Mac or iPad and the apps open in view-only mode or show activation errors, updating the device OS and Office apps may also be required.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. DaveM121 946.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-11-06T16:54:39.4333333+00:00

    Are you using the Office apps on a Windows PC or on an Apple Mac computer?

    1

    If you are using the Office apps on a Windows device:

    Open Word.

    At the top right of Word, log out of Office.

    Restart (not shut down) your PC, then log back into Office, is your licence/subscription then recognized correctly.

    If not, log into your Microsoft account on this link, check the expiry date listed on your subscription, is that listed correctly.

    https://account.microsoft.com/services/

    2

    If you are using the Office apps on an Apple Mac computer:

    Open Word.

    On the top menu, click the Word icon and on the resulting menu, click 'Update Licence' to test if that resolves the problem

    If not on that menu, log out of Word, then restart Word and log back into Office to test if that resolves the problem.

    3

    If you are still unable to resolve the problem, please provide a screenshot of the error you see indicated

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