Troubleshoot installing Office

If you’re not sure which operating system you have, see Which Windows operating system am I running? Check that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to install Office. See System requirements for Office for a list of additional requirements. If you’re not sure how to decide between 64-bit or 32-bit, see Choose the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Office 2016.

Download and installation issues on a Mac

If you or your users find Office is taking a very long time to install, try installing using an offline installation. See Use the Office 2016 offline installer and select the Office for business tab. These steps show you how to download the installer file which you can then use to install Office offline on a PC at your convenience. When you install Office 365, all the applications that came with your particular Office product is installed at the same time. You can’t custom select which Office applications you want to install or not install, nor you can’t delete individual applications after your installation is complete. However, you can delete shortcuts to applications you don’t plan to use.

For download and installation issues on Office 365 troubleshooting guide a Mac, see What to try if you can’t install Office for Mac. If you encountered a problem while installing Office on a PC, try restarting your computer and then attempting to install Office again. If that didn’t help, use the uninstall troubleshooter to uninstall Office completely. After your uninstall is complete, try reinstalling Office. Please let us know if you found any of these solutions helpful by clicking Yes or No next to Was this information helpful, below, and leaving us a comment.

Account or sign in issues

To remove licenses from users, see Remove licenses from users in Office 365 for business. If a user needs to install Office on a sixth computer, you have to deactivate an installation. Deactivation doesn’t remove Office from the computer, but you can’t use Office on that computer until you activate it. See Deactivate Office 365 if you see a “limit reached” error. The links below are specific to admins looking for troubleshooting help with these Office 365 services. For more general (not admin specific) help in these areas, see the Additional help section on the Office for Business tab of this topic.

How do I download and install or reinstall Office?

• If you previously installed the 32-bit version of Office on your PC, but decide you now want the 64-bit version, you’ll have to uninstall 32-bit and then reinstall the 64-bit version of Office.
• Learn how to uninstall Office from a PC using the Control Panel or with the uninstall support tool.
• For other solutions, see Install button doesn’t install Office.
• You can run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter to help you fix activation issues.

The Microsoft 365 offline installer may help bypass potential proxy, firewall, antivirus, or Internet connection issues that might occur during an Microsoft 365 installation. If you’re still unable to install Office following the steps in Download and install or reinstall Office try using the offline installer. Use the uninstall troubleshooter to uninstall Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016 from your Windows PC. If you’re looking for the steps to download and install the latest version of Office such as Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016, see Install Office on your PC or Mac. If individuals in your organization are using an older version of Office, we recommend you upgrade to the latest version.

I recently switched Office 365 plans and now get messages I can’t use Office

If activation failures began after you upgraded to Windows 10, see Office error code 0x8004FC12 when activating Office. You can run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter to help you fix activation issues. If you have an Office 365 plan, to keep it active, you have to sign in at least once every 30 days. If your subscription hasn’t expired, Office will reactivate the subscription the next time you log in. Use the Microsoft 365 setup troubleshooter to install Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016 on your Windows PC.

If you’re on an Microsoft 365 subscription, you will see an upgrade notification in the menu bar of your Microsoft 365 applications or you can update your version manually by signing in to Microsoft 365. If you’re an admin and you aren’t sure what plan you have, follow the steps in What Office 365 for business subscription do I have? For a comparison of plans, see compare small business plans or compare enterprise plans.

To troubleshoot Mac activation issues, see the “Activation” section in What to try if you can’t install or activate Office for Mac. Office up-to-date ensures that you have the latest security updates and fixes. If your admin has given you permission to install updates, see Install Office updates. For example, you can’t install Office on computers running Windows Vista or Windows XP, or on devices that aren’t running a supported Windows or Mac operating system. However, you may still be able to use Office Online in your computer’s browser.

You then deploy Office by using the software deployment method you typically use. To help you set up your organization, see Set up Office 365 for business – Admin Help. For more information, see Deactivate Office 365 if you see a “limit reached” error. If the Install button is grayed out, your Office 365 subscription might have expired.

To troubleshoot Mac activation issues, see the “Activation” tab on What to try if you can’t install or activate Office for Mac. If there’s a Learn More link on the error message, select that. If there’s no link, let us know what error you got and where you were in the install process when you received it. Leave us a comment at the bottom of this page to let us know more about your issue. If you’re a student or teacher, and you don’t see an option to install Office through your institution, you may be eligible for Office 365 Education, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. You can’t install the desktop PC or Mac versions of Office on your Chromebook, but depending on your Chromebook you may be able to install the Office mobile apps.