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 5: / Line 5: @@
 ===How to Activate Office===
-In order to activate Office you need to connect to the UMD campus network. You can do this either by physically connecting your machine to the network while on campus, or by using the [https://it.umd.edu/spotlight/connections/what-vpn UMD VPN] or [[VPN|UMIACS VPN]].
+'''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.
 Once you are on the campus network follow these instructions:
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 '''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.'''
-#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".
+# Search for Command Prompt in the Start menu, right click it, and choose "Run as administrator".
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_1.jpg]]
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_1.jpg]]
-#Run the following command to determine the architecture of your operating system. This will help you determine which commands you need to run as you continue:
+# 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:
-#:<pre>wmic os get osarchitecture</pre>
+#: <pre>wmic os get osarchitecture</pre>
-#:[[Image:Windows_Get_Architecture.jpg]]
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_2.jpg]]
-#The path entered for the rest of the commands will differ slightly depending on what version and bitness of Office you are using. The below instructions assume Office 2010 32-bit on Windows 64-bit. See [https://support.office.com/en-us/article/about-office-what-version-of-office-am-i-using-932788b8-a3ce-44bf-bb09-e334518b8b19 here] for how to check Office version and bitness.
+# 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.'''
-#*Office 2010
+#* 64-bit Office, 64-bit Windows: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
-#**64-bit: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS"</code>
+#* 32-bit Office, 64-bit Windows: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
-#**32-bit: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS"</code>
+#* 32-bit Office, 32-bit Windows: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
-#*Office 2013
+# Set the correct KMS server.
-#**64-bit: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS"</code>
+#: <code>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu</code>
-#**32-bit: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS"</code>
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_3.jpg]]
-#*Office 2016
+# Force an activation against the KMS server.
-#**64-bit: <code>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
+#: <code>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /act</code>
-#**32-bit: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"</code>
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_4.jpg]]
-#Run one of the following two commands to set the correct KMS server:
+# Check the licensing status.
-#:64-bit Office:
+#: <code>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus</code>
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu</pre>
+#* This example shows 1 license, being the standard Office installation.
-#:32-bit Office:
+#: [[Image:Activating_Office_Update_5.jpg]]
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu</pre>
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_2.jpg]]
-#Run one the following two commands to force an activation against the KMS server.
-#:64-bit Office:
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /act</pre>
-#:32-bit Office:
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /act</pre>
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_3.jpg]]
-#You can use one of the following two commands to check the license status, this example shows 3 licenses because Visio and Project Pro are installed along side of the standard Office installation.
-#:64-bit Office:
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus</pre>
-#:32-bit Office:
-#:<pre>cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus</pre>
-#:[[Image:Activate_Office_Screen_4.jpg]]