Activate Subscription

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

1. May I please know whether you are using a Windows or macOS operating system?
2. Also, please let me know which edition of the Office apps is installed on your device. Is it an Office 365 Personal subscription, or a perpetual license such as Office Home?
3. When you go to File > Account, on the right side under the product information section, do you see a message indicating that your Office product is activated? If you see any error instead, please sign out of your account and then sign back in with the account associated with your Office subscription.

Yes, the behavior described indicates Office is not activated and is running in reduced functionality mode.

When Office is not activated, most features are disabled and it is possible to open and print documents but not save changes. This is controlled by the Office Activation Wizard and is resolved by activating the product.

To continue using Excel and Word fully, activate Office using the appropriate method for the license:

1. If there is a Microsoft 365 or Office license already owned, sign in to the Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page (https://account.microsoft.com/services) and install or reactivate the product from there.
2. After installation, open Word or Excel and sign in with the same Microsoft account used for the license when prompted.
3. Follow any on-screen activation prompts (such as the “Let’s get started” or activation wizard screens) to complete activation.

Once activation is completed, saving and editing documents will be restored.

References:

• Reactivate Microsoft 365 or Office
• Description of the Office Activation Wizard
• A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application
• Activate Office for Windows