Now that you've purchased and/or redeemed your Microsoft Office, it's time to Download, Install, and Activate (abbreviated as DIA) your software to your computer. To check for the system requirements, click/tap here to read more.
How can I download, install, and activate my software?
1. Visit account.microsoft.com/services (image above) to check your current software registered to your Microsoft account. As I have mentioned previously in my article, Microsoft 365 (a subscription-based software) & Office 2019 (a licensed software) has different features and benefits. Click/tap here to read more.
2. After logging in, click on the link that says Install (underlined in red), once clicked a pop-up box will appear on your screen, and click on Install again. The .exe (for Windows 10) or .pkg (for macOS) file will start to download after clicking and it will redirect you to the home page. Depending on the browser you're using it will show on the bottom-left part or at the top-right corner of your browser. Once the download is complete, you can try to open the file to proceed with the installation.
For Windows users
1. Click on the Folder icon (image below). Once opened, select Downloads and open the .exe file for Microsoft Office. A pop-up box will show up on your screen and this will display in a few seconds. After that, another pop-up box will be displayed on your screen, this time it will show a progress bar (colored in green) and will show all of your programs under Microsoft Office. For this one, you'll need to wait once it reaches 100%. This is now depending on the speed of your internet connection and the overall performance of your computer.
2. Once the installation is complete, click on Skip since it will ask you to enter your mobile number if you want to install your software on your smartphone. After clicking, it will say "The installation is now complete", now click on close and open your start menu (on the bottom left part of your screen).
3. You'll have it on your "Recently Added" programs or find them individually (for example Word under letter W, Excel under letter E, PowerPoint under letter P) to open the program to activate your software. The activation process will work once and no need to activate it again after opening either Excel or PowerPoint.
4. After opening your program, check your email address (if this is associated with your Microsoft account) before clicking continue. This time it will request you to sign in with your email address (it should be the same email you've logged in from the support website) and let it wait for a few seconds to activate. Once activated, the software will ask you if you want to receive additional data and any future products for Microsoft. I recommend clicking on "No". To check if it is activated, click on Account on the bottom left and this will show your product information. On the right side of your screen, it will show that your software is now activated.
5. Now that is activated, you can test it out by opening a new blank document or open any recent documents stored on your computer.
For macOS users (macOS High Sierra, Mojave, and Catalina)
It works in the same way as for Windows, but the latest version of Microsoft Office only works on the mentioned operating systems above (not sure on Big Sur - Apple's new macOS since I've never encountered any Big Sur user. The account was dissolved and transferred to Jaipur, India) and it will never work on the lowest versions of macOS. For the full list of macOS, click/tap here to read more.
1. Open Finder (image below under # 5 - located on your dock at the bottom left part highlighted in red), then click on Downloads. Search and open the .pkg file for Microsoft Office. Once the .pkg file is opened, the installation screen shows up, click on Continue.
2. Accept the license agreement, click on Continue, set the path where you want to install your software. Review or check if you have any free space on your computer, and then click on Install.
3. After clicking Install, it will ask you to enter your password. For this one, it is not asking you to enter your Microsoft account password. The right one you should enter here is your password on Mac.
4. After entering your password and clicking on Install Software, the installation progress bar will show up (colored in blue). If it gets stuck on Validating Package Scripts, this means it's getting all the required files and drivers so you can use your software on Mac. This is a common issue, sometimes it will get stuck on this part or not, and just like I said earlier this will depend on the speed of your internet connection and the overall performance of your computer so you'll need to wait to complete up to 100%.
5. Once installed, it will say "The installation was successful. The software was installed." Click close and a pop-up box will appear for Microsoft AutoUpdate. This will check if all of your apps are up to date. Close it and to launch the program, click on Finder (located on your dock at the bottom left part highlighted in red) or the Launchpad (the rocket logo highlighted in black).
On Finder, at the left pane click on Applications. Once you're on Applications, it will be displayed on the right pane of your Finder window and all applications are arranged alphabetically. Look for Microsoft Word (Excel or PowerPoint) then open the said program to activate your software.
On Launchpad, simply click on Microsoft Word (or any of the programs mentioned)
6. A new window will show up saying What's new. Click on get started. To activate your Microsoft Office, just like the activation process from Windows. Simply enter your email address registered with Microsoft to sign in. Wait for a few seconds to activate your software, and it will say your software is active. Now, you can test it out by opening a recent document or create a new document.
Now, these are the concerns that I get most of the time. Mostly, they need assistance to download, install, and activate their software for the first time (depends on the caller if they're computer literate or not - especially for the Elderly). I cannot install my software and get stuck almost at 94%? I cannot activate my software? It's saying that I need to renew my subscription and I already renewed my software? I want to install my Office 2000 or 2007 to my Windows 10. These are the common concerns I would get and one thing I learned on taking calls for a year? You would never expect what it will be just like a pawn shop. You're the owner, the customer enters your shop and you'll never expect what item they'll be going to show you and decide to pawn or sell it.
In my next article, I'll be breaking down these individually and other concerns on how you can resolve the issues about your Microsoft Office, so stay tuned!
