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Just ran an Office Online Repair and my "perp" license is now flagged as expired

Del 0 Reputation points
2026-05-14T16:26:14.4666667+00:00

I just ran an "Office Professional Plus 2021" Online Repair to fix a problem. The repair fixed the problem but the Office apps now display a notice that my licensed product hasn't been activated - It is licensed "perp" lifetime and has worked well for years.

OSPP shows the repaired product is operating in the "Grace Period" and the last 5-digits of the license number it shows are different from what I entered several years ago.

Does anyone know how to resolve this problem?

Thanks,

Del

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Windows
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  1. DaveM121 882.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-14T17:00:34.8566667+00:00

    Office Professional Plus 2021 is a volume licence version of Office used by large organizations, it is not a consumer Office licence, and the online repair operation has found a problem with the licence, where did you purchase the Office licence, was that from an online retailer.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-05-14T16:26:36.3433333+00:00

    The Online Repair likely reset the Office installation and changed or removed the existing license, so the product is now in a grace/unlicensed state.

    To resolve the issue, use these steps:

    1. Verify the license is still valid and associated with the correct account or key
      • For perpetual/“perp” Office, ensure the original product key or license information is available.
      • If this is tied to a Microsoft account, sign in with the same account used when Office was first activated.
    2. Reactivate Office
      • Open any Office app (for example, Word) and follow the activation prompts.
      • When asked, sign in with the account used to buy/activate Office or enter the original product key.
      • If the wrong account is used, Office will show a message like “We couldn't find any Office products,” so switch to the account that owns the license.
    3. If activation still fails, repair again and then reactivate
      • Run another repair using the steps described for repairing Office:
        1. Exit all Office apps.
        2. Open Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps (or Programs and Features via appwiz.cpl).
        3. Select the Office product and choose Change → Online Repair.
      • After the repair completes, open an Office app and repeat the activation/sign-in or product key entry.
    4. If the product continues to show as unlicensed or in grace period
      • Check for any antivirus or proxy settings that might be blocking activation, as described in the activation troubleshooting article.
      • If the issue persists, contact Microsoft Support and provide Office licensing diagnostics and logs as requested in the activation and deactivation guidance.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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