Microsoft Office Activation

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

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 UMD VPN or UMIACS VPN.

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

1. 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"

   File:Activate Office Screen 1.jpg

2. Run the following command to determine the architecture of your machine. This will help you determine which commands you need to run as you continue:

   wmic os get osarchitecture

   File:Windows Get Architecture.jpg

3. 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. See here for how to check Office version and bitness.
   • Office 2010
     • 64-bit: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS"
     • 32-bit: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS"
   • Office 2013
     • 64-bit: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS"
     • 32-bit: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS"
   • Office 2016
     • 64-bit: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"
     • 32-bit: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS"
4. Run one of the following two commands to set the correct KMS server:

   If 64-bit Architecture:

   cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu

   If 32-bit Architecture:

   cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /sethst:kms.umd.edu

   File:Activate Office Screen 2.jpg

5. Run one the following two commands to force an activation against the KMS server

   If 64-bit Architecture:

   cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /act

   If 32-bit Architecture:

   cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /act

   File:Activate Office Screen 3.jpg

6. 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.

   If 64-bit Architecture:

   cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

   If 32-bit Architecture:

   cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

   File:Activate Office Screen 4.jpg