Office 2021 and 2019 are both lifetime, non-subscription, traditional offline Office that are installable using a product key on a single device. They will bind to a Microsoft account for future reinstallations even to a completely different device as long as only 1 active installation exists. In case of reinstallations, all you need to do is to sign in using the Microsoft account where you bound them to. This will also activate Office automatically. Businesses prefer these offline Office versions as they are more dependable for commercial use and are bindable to their business Microsoft accounts. Many people also prefer the traditional, non subscription Office to avoid monthly subscription fees.
Do note that Office Professional Plus is only compatible with PCs while Office Home and Business is only compatible with Macs. This is because some of Office Professional Plus apps are Windows exclusive such as Publisher and Access. If you are looking for Microsoft Office that is compatible with both Windows and Mac and can be activated unlimited number of times on up to 5 PCs or Macs and additional 5 Tablets and 5 Androids or iPhones, please see Office 365.
If you have bought multiple product keys, you can bind them on either a single or multiple Microsoft accounts for life. You will have an option on your Account page as shown below at https://account.microsoft.com/services to choose which product to install on the current device. In our example below, we have multiple licenses inserted into a single Microsoft account that we can use to activate multiple installations of Microsoft Office. We can uninstall then reinstall and reactivate these 8 licenses unlimited number of times even on a totally different device as long as only 1 active installation per license exists.
IMPORTANT
If you have already installed Office 2021 or 2019 and you are certain that it is a genuine copy, you may start from step number 9 for instructions on activating your Office.
If you own previous releases of Microsoft Office, it is of utmost importance that you remove them first before installing Office 2021 or 2019 to prevent application errors. Microsoft Office is designed in a way that it only allows one installation and once license to exist in a single device. Pirated Office should also be thoroughly removed to ensure that the new installation can connect to Microsoft’s activation servers for activation.
For PC, To remove existing Office installation using the official Office removal tool, click here. Run the program and follow on-screen instructions.
For Mac, Click here for a guide on how to remove Office from Mac.
After removing office licenses and uninstalling office, it is important to restart your computer.
1. Ensure that all existing licenses and installations of Microsoft Office are completely removed as mentioned above. After completion of payment, you will receive your product key. Go to https://setup.office.com/ and sign in using your Microsoft account or create one if you don’t have one.
2. It is required that you sign in with your Microsoft account. Note that the product key will permanently bind to this account.
3. Now that you are signed-in, simply enter the product key you received from us then click Next.
4. Click Confirm.
5. At this point, Microsoft will add this product on Products you’ve purchased under Services & Subscriptions and you will be redirected to https://account.microsoft.com/services. Once license is bound to your Microsoft account, the product key is now rendered useless. You will simply need to sign in with your Microsoft Account to install and activate Office. Click Install next to the product you wish to install on the current PC you are using.
IMPORTANT
As of October 3, 2021, Microsoft have already removed the product key and now relies on the date the license was redeemed as the only way of identifying products bound with your Microsoft account. If you are going to bind multiple licenses like the one shown on the screenshot above where we bound 5 Office 2021 licenses to a single Microsoft account, it is best to bind them at different dates. This will enable you to easily identify which is which. Binding multiple licenses on the same day might cause confusion during activation as user will not be able to identify between products of the same name with same date of redemption.
6. A window will open. Feel free to choose your preferred language and version of Office. You can also download the Offline installer from here if you will install Office on multiple devices or devices without internet connection. We recommend choosing 64-bit if this is compatible with your device as it is faster and more efficient in terms of CPU and RAM usage. Click Install.
7. Download will begin. Once finished, click the downloaded file and then click Yes to allow the app to make changes to your device.
8. Office will now download. Depending on your internet connection, it could take several minutes.
9. Congratulations! Office is now installed. Click Close and open any Microsoft Office application such as Word. You can open the installed Office apps by clicking the app name on the Start Menu denoted by the Windows logo on your keyboard and taskbar. You can also search for the app name such as Word on the Windows search bar and clicking the app to open it.
For PC users, installing Office will not create Office apps shortcuts on your desktop. You will need to create shortcuts manually by going to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs then right click the app icon and select Send to > Desktop (create a shortcut).
For Mac users, Office apps are accessed via Launchpad.
10. You can now sign in using the Microsoft account you used on step 2 to activate Office.
11. If this account has multiple product keys bound to it, you will be given an option to choose which license to use. Each license is differentiated in accordance with the date it was redeemed hence, the important of redeeming licenses of the same product type at different dates to avoid confusion during activation.
12. Congratulations, your Office is now activated for life!
USING OFFLINE INSTALLER TO INSTALL OFFICE
If you are having problems downloading and installing Office using online installation or perhaps prefer an offline installer to install Office on multiple devices without having to download Office repeatedly, you can download a full offline installer for Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 via the official links below:
Office 2021 Professional Plus Retail: https://officecdn.microsoft.com/db/492350F6-3A01-4F97-B9C0-C7C6DDF67D60/media/en-US/ProPlus2021Retail.img
Office 2021 Home and Business: https://officecdnmac.microsoft.com/pr/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_Office_16.54.21101001_BusinessPro_Installer.pkg
Office 2019 Professional Plus Retail: https://officecdn.microsoft.com/pr/492350f6-3a01-4f97-b9c0-c7c6ddf67d60/media/en-us/ProPlus2019Retail.img
Office 2019 Home and Business: https://officecdn.microsoft.com/pr/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/OfficeMac/Microsoft_Office_16.17.18090901_Installer.pkg