Microsoft Office Activation: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:04, 1 August 2024

This article is about how to manually force Microsoft Office to activate and obtain a license from the university KMS server.

When do I need to do this?

Most users will not need to do this in order to use Microsoft Office. The only time this will need to be done is if Office is installed on a host that goes an extended length of time (180 days or more) without connecting to the campus network (either physically or through a VPN) and needs to be activated in a hurry.

How to Activate Office

Please note that you need to be connected to either the wired campus network, campus WiFi, the campus VPN, or the UMIACS VPN to activate. The below steps will assume you have already established a network connection. Please also note that your time must be correct (i.e. set via the Internet) and set to the US Eastern timezone for this to work. You can try running w32tm /resync on the command line below in step 4 before running the other commands listed in that step and subsequent ones to resync your time if the commands fail at first.

Once you are on the campus network follow these instructions:

Simple Activation Method

Open any Office product (Word, PowerPoint, etc.). This should automatically activate Office. If it fails to activate, follow the instructions below:

Command Line Activation Method

Please note that your time must be correct for this to work, make sure you are in the East Coast timezone and your time is set via the internet, try running "w32tm /resync" on the command line.

Search for Command Prompt in the Start menu, right click it, and choose "Run as administrator".
Run the following command to determine the bitness of your operating system. This will help you determine which commands you need to run as you continue:
```
wmic os get osarchitecture
```
The path entered for the rest of the commands will differ slightly depending on the bitness of your operating system and your version and bitness of Office. See here for how to check Office version and bitness. The remaining instructions assume Office 2016 (or newer) 64-bit on Windows 64-bit.
- 64-bit Office, 64-bit Windows: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"
- 32-bit Office, 64-bit Windows: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"
- 32-bit Office, 32-bit Windows: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"
Set the correct KMS server.
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu
Force an activation against the KMS server.
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /act
Check the licensing status.
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus
- This example shows 1 license, being the standard Office installation.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-This article is about how to manually force Microsoft Office 2010 to activate and obtain a license from the university KMS server.
+This article is about how to manually force Microsoft Office to activate and obtain a license from the university KMS server.
 ===When do I need to do this?===
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ===How to Activate Office===
-In order to activate office and obtain a new 180 day license, you will first need to connect to the campus network, if you have a laptop you can do physically connect it to the UMIACS proxy when you are on campus, or if you need to activate on a machine at home, you can connect to the [[Windows7VPN|UMIACS VPN]]. Once you are connected to the campus network follow these instructions:
+'''Please note that you need to be connected to either the ''wired campus network'', ''campus WiFi'', the ''[https://terpware.umd.edu/Windows/Title/1840 campus VPN]'', or the ''[[Network/VPN | UMIACS VPN]]'' to activate.''' The below steps will assume you have already established a network connection. Please also note that your time must be correct (i.e. set via the Internet) and set to the US Eastern timezone for this to work. You can try running <code>w32tm /resync</code> on the command line below in step 4 before running the other commands listed in that step and subsequent ones to resync your time if the commands fail at first.
-#Open the Command Prompt as Administrator by opening the start menu and navigating to "All Programs->Accessories", right clicking on Command Prompt and clicking "Run as administrator"
+Once you are on the campus network follow these instructions:
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_1.jpg]]
-#Run one of the following two commands to set the correct KMS server:
+====Simple Activation Method====
-#:For 64-bit Windows:
+Open any Office product (Word, PowerPoint, etc.). '''This should automatically activate Office'''. If it fails to activate, follow the instructions below:
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu</pre>
-#:For 32-bit Windows:
+====Command Line Activation Method====
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms. umd.edu</pre>
+'''Please note that your time must be correct for this to work, make sure you are in the East Coast timezone and your time is set via the internet, try running "w32tm /resync" on the command line.'''
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_2.jpg]]
-#Run one the following two commands to force an activation against the KMS server
+# Search for Command Prompt in the Start menu, right click it, and choose "Run as administrator".
-#:For 64-bit Windows:
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_1.jpg]]
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /act</pre>
+# Run the following command to determine the bitness of your operating system. This will help you determine which commands you need to run as you continue:
-#:For 32-bit Windows:
+#: <pre>wmic os get osarchitecture</pre>
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /act</pre>
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_2.jpg]]
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_3.jpg]]
+# The path entered for the rest of the commands will differ slightly depending on the bitness of your operating system and your version and bitness of Office. See [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/about-office-what-version-of-office-am-i-using-932788b8-a3ce-44bf-bb09-e334518b8b19?ui=en-us&rs=en-us&ad=us here] for how to check Office version and bitness. '''The remaining instructions assume Office 2016 (or newer) 64-bit on Windows 64-bit.'''
-#You can use one of the following two commands to check the license status, this example shows 3 licenses because Viso and Project Plus are installed along side of the standard Office installation.
+#* 64-bit Office, 64-bit Windows: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
-#:For 64-bit Windows:
+#* 32-bit Office, 64-bit Windows: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus</pre>
+#* 32-bit Office, 32-bit Windows: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
-#:For 32-bit Windows:
+# Set the correct KMS server.
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus</pre>
+#: <code>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu</code>
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_4.jpg]]
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_3.jpg]]
+# Force an activation against the KMS server.
+#: <code>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /act</code>
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_4.jpg]]
+# Check the licensing status.
+#: <code>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus</code>
+#* This example shows 1 license, being the standard Office installation.
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_5.jpg]]