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igoronx's avatar
igoronx
Copper Contributor
Feb 11, 2026

Office 2016 Product Key Redeemed But License Not Showing in Account

Hello,

 

I purchased Office 2016 and I'm facing an unusual issue with my product key activation.

 

**The Problem:**

 

When I try to activate Office 2016 with my product key, the system tells me the key was redeemed by the email address c****email address removed for privacy reasons. I have access to this email account, so I tried logging into office.com to check, but surprisingly there is NO Office license associated with this account.

 

**What I've Done:**

 

1. I contacted Microsoft support. The first agent confirmed no Office was linked to that email address.

2. After a few minutes, the same agent then confirmed that the product key WAS indeed activated on that email account - but they said they couldn't help much because Office 2016 is already end-of-life.

3. When I try to sign into Office apps (Word, Excel, etc.) with that email, it says the account has no Office license.

4. However, when I use the product key, it says it's been redeemed on that email account.

 

**The Contradiction:**

 

There's a clear disconnect: the product key system says it's redeemed on my email, but the Office account management system says there's no license on that same email.

 

**My Question:**

 

How can I proceed to use my Office 2016 license? Is there a way to recover or re-link the license, or migrate it despite Office 2016 being end-of-life?

 

Thank you for any guidance.

1 Reply

  • Phantom16's avatar
    Phantom16
    Copper Contributor

    Just chiming in that I am having the same problem. I have used 2016 for years, and it's on my old laptop. I bought a new laptop, but I can't for the life of me find the option to download it in my MS account. It's definitely the same account/email since I can open up the settings on my old laptop Word and see it listed. Very frustrating, and I'm not going to subscribe to something that I already paid for.