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Office account rebind issue: I want to change the phone number and reactivate it.

小谷 ` 0 Reputation points
2026-05-18T08:57:07.62+00:00

I accidentally linked my Office license to an old Microsoft account that I can no longer access or recover. After switching to a new account, I cannot claim the license from the Microsoft Store, and Word keeps showing "unlicensed product" alerts. I am unable to activate the permanent Office license. Could you please help me unbind the license from the old account and reset the permanent Office permission?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Windows
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  1. DaveM121 882.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-18T09:38:59.58+00:00

    When an Office licence or subscription is activated, that becomes permanently associated to the Microsoft account used as a digital licence, and there is no native method available to move the Office licence to another Microsoft account.

    This forum is just a user to user forum, no-one here has any account access, the only hope you may have is to contact Microsoft Support directly, provide them with proof of purchase... etc. and ask them if it is possible to move the licence for you, try using this method to contact their support.

    Go to this link: https://support.microsoft.com/contactus

    Select Microsoft 365

    Click 'Get Home Support'.

    In the box provided, type billing.

    Press Enter, then on the next page, scroll down and click 'Sign in to Contact Support'.

    Navigate to Microsoft 365 and Office - Manage my Subscription.

    Select the 'Chat with support agent in web browser' option

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  2. AI answer

    2026-05-18T08:57:23.77+00:00

    An Office perpetual (one‑time purchase) or Microsoft 365 subscription license that has already been redeemed and bound to a Microsoft account cannot be moved to a different Microsoft account by the user. If access to the original Microsoft account is lost and cannot be recovered, the bound license cannot be “unbound” or reassigned to a new account, and activation on a new account will fail, resulting in “Unlicensed Product” messages.

    The only supported options are:

    1. Recover or sign in with the original Microsoft account
      • Activation and license verification require signing in with the same account that owns the product.
      • If Office asks to sign in, entering a different account will cause errors such as “We couldn’t find any Office products.”
      • Guidance for activation issues is based on using the correct account: see the steps under Step 1: Sign in to Office with the right account and Step 3: Check your subscription status in the activation article.
    2. If the original account truly cannot be recovered
      • The existing license bound to that account cannot be transferred to the new account.
      • To continue using Office with full functionality on the new account, a new valid license or subscription is required.

    For the current “Unlicensed Product” state on the device, the supported troubleshooting path is:

    1. Make sure the device is signed into Office with the account that owns an active license:
      • If there is an active subscription or product under the correct account, sign into Office with that account as described in Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office.
    2. If no valid product appears under any accessible account, the apps will remain in reduced functionality mode until a new license is purchased and activated.

    Phone numbers or other profile changes on the new account do not affect the binding of an existing license to the old account and cannot be used to move that license.

    References:

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

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