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Transferring License for 'Office Home and Student 2016'

Hashim Sariya 20 Reputation points
2026-05-24T07:54:23.6466667+00:00

I had bought a license of 'Office Home and Student 2016' for my 2017 macbook. My macbook is broken now and I currently use windows. However, I plan to switch to a macbook soon again, I wanted to know if I can transfer my old license from my old mac to this new potential macbook? Like I said, my old macbook is broken and doesn't function. I can still see the old license on my microsoft account with an option of "Copy Key" and "Install". So basically, can I transfer this to the new macbook, instead of spending on an another license?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | MacOS
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AI answer

2026-05-24T07:54:37.66+00:00

Yes, the Office Home and Student 2016 license can be transferred to another computer that belongs to the same owner, including moving from the old Mac to a new Mac, as long as the transfer terms are followed.

Key points based on the license terms for one-time purchases (Office Home & Student, Home & Business, Professional):

  1. The license can be installed on only one PC or Mac at a time.
  2. Office 2016 can be transferred to another computer that belongs to the same owner, but not more than once every 90 days, except in cases of hardware failure (which applies to a broken Mac).
  3. When transferring, the software must be removed from the prior computer and no copies may be retained. In this case, the old Mac is non-functional, which satisfies the intent of not using the old installation.
  4. After transfer, activation may need to be completed by phone if online activation reports that the maximum number of activations has been reached.

Practical steps when the new Mac is available:

  1. Sign in with the same Microsoft account used for the original purchase at https://account.microsoft.com/services/ to access the Office Home and Student 2016 entitlement.
  2. Download and install the appropriate Office for Mac version that matches Office 2016 and is supported on the new Mac’s OS (using the perpetual/one-time license path, not the Mac App Store version).
  3. If activation fails with a “maximum number of activations” or similar message, use the phone activation option as described in the activation article to complete activation on the new Mac.

There is no need to buy a new license as long as the above conditions are met and the license is associated with the same Microsoft account.

References:

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