My office 365 is asking me to enter a product key or activate it out of no where. I bought the laptop off my dad 4 years ago and it's never done this before. I was always under the impression he had a lifetime key, however, something has happened. He doesn't have any old keys either.
Are there any ways to skip this?
If not, what's the cheapest way to get a key?
All Microsoft Office 365 subscription plans are time-limited, usually for a year. Microsoft 365 Family or Personal can be extended for up to five years by buying multiple yearly plans and adding them to your account.
They were still selling lifetime single user copies 4 years ago.
They weren't Office 365 then. They've never had "lifetime" licenses but there are sellers who will sell you an Office 365 account tied to their own tenancy if you don't mind having all your information accessible. Perpetual licenses for products like Microsoft Office 2019 exist.
Microsoft 365 is always subscription based, you might be thinking of a different edition of Office.
If you google Office 2021 you'll get a few ads / sponsored search results from places selling "license keys" for the latest perpetual version of Office (Microsoft dubs it Office LTSC 2021 and they're usually only available to organizations through a volume licensing agreement.
This means when you buy these keys online, you're not actually purchasing and owning a Office license yourself, but rather just gaining access to Office through someone else's volume licensing agreement. This can be iffy sometimes. Someone else can probably explain the downside part better than I do.
If you are only a casual MS office user, remember that the simplified web-app versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint is free for everyone to use. I recommend it out before you spend money unnecessarily on a product you might not need.
If it is asking for a 'product key' though, it is likely a stand alone edition of office.
@jv: Yep mine is a standalone. Does pirate bay still exist? lol
EDIT: Although when I go to account it's called Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
Does pirate bay still exist?
Or maybe pay for a legitimate licence, rather than steal one.
@jv: calm down pb was a joke. If you scroll down you'll see im asking for views on a paid version available online…
@jv: Office 365 still has product keys for services like VL, KMS and MAK. Seems OP has confirmed it is a dodgy Enterprise subscription. Hopefully they're not using an email account or OneDrive issued by them as they'll be able to access them both.
Strangely yesterday my Windows 10 Pro has done the same….
I re-entered the serial (volume license key from work) and now Windows update is greyed out in services… I'm assuming they have canned the serial….Maybe some crack down?
Organisations have more granular control of windows updates. They do not allow users to self update the OS.
This prevents IT issues caused by untested patches on third party software.
Its a member of the IT team that setup the PC in first place :)
There is no policy in place on this PC to stop windows update and point to WSUS server
What's everyones thoughts on something like this if I have to pay?
https://shop.winandoffice.com/australia/product/microsoft-of…
Purists will take issue with them, but I'm ok with using sites like that.
I've previously used Pixelcodes but looks like they're out of that now. Shopakeys was another. You'll find licenses on eBay too but you need to search eBay globally and be quick - eBay shuts them down pretty quick. Last time I heard anything about this it was legal for EU residents to sell licenses from retired machines.
If you can, look for the 'more legit' versions that actually allow you to attach the license to your MS Account, versus the phone activation route.
Stack Social was another I saw some sales from recently. How much they're actual retail license sales versus OEM/volume keys I couldn't say.
I cant get my head around these sites… why would anyone pay full $ if these are legit and operating?
If I understand it all correctly - the licenses are legit but are being sold incorrectly. They're intended for hardware/service provider volume sellers, or plain old OEM. The licenses work and stay working.
The completely dodgy licenses require phone activation. These appear to be one legit license being resold multiple times.
I've never seem a break down but I don't think your average user pays full $'s for retail Office. I'd say they get it bundled with a PC, maybe get a deal via work or just pay the subscription which appears more affordable.
This happened to me back when i was still using office 2013. Theres a way to reactivate it through the original product key that is stored on the PC via CMD.
I would tell you this but last the the mods weren’t happy lol.
Haha
Impressions do not always align with reality. Most likely, it was an illegal key.
Yes, Microsoft caught up with you.