Office Help Your organizations administrator turned off the service required to use this feature

[AndrewC66]

Hello. I have just installed Office 365 on a new laptop.~I have a family plan.

When I click on help I get this error;

The command isn't available.

Your organizations administrator turned off the service required to use this feature.

Please can anyone help.

thanks

[#2 · Accepted solution]

@AndrewC66 

The error message you are encountering, "The command isn't available. Your organization's administrator turned off the service required to use this feature," typically indicates that certain features or functions in your Office 365 installation are restricted by the organization's policies or settings. This can happen even if you are using an Office 365 Family plan because the Office applications may be configured with default settings that apply to business or enterprise environments.

Here are some steps you can take to resolve this issue:

1. Check Your Account: Ensure that you are signed in with the correct Microsoft account associated with your Office 365 Family subscription. Make sure you are not signed in with a work or organizational account.
2. Verify Administrator Settings: If you are the administrator of your family plan, log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com) and check if there are any policies or settings that might be restricting certain features. Adjust the settings as needed to allow access to the Help feature.
3. Check for Updates: Ensure that your Office applications are up to date. Outdated software might have compatibility issues with certain features. Go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now to check for and install any available updates.
4. Repair Office Installation: If the issue persists, you can try repairing your Office installation. To do this, go to Control Panel (or Settings in Windows 10), then Programs > Programs and Features. Find Microsoft Office 365 in the list, select it, and choose "Change." From there, select "Quick Repair" or "Online Repair."
5. Use Office Online: If the problem persists, consider using Office Online (Office for the web) as an alternative. It provides most of the functionality found in the desktop Office applications and should not have the same restrictions.

Please note that if your Office 365 Family subscription is administered by someone else, like the primary account holder or another family member, they may have configured certain restrictions. In this case, you should communicate with them to understand and adjust these settings as needed. The text and steps were edited with the help of AI.

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

Hope this will help you.

Was the answer useful? Mark them as helpful and like it!

This will help all forum participants.

[#3]

@NikolinoDE 

thanks for the help.

I found that the settings in the family admin were NOT set to allow online help (privacy settings)   And this has been overriding the settings in the local Office install.

changed the settings in the admin part, restarted office, and all is working .

thanks

[#4]

@NikolinoDE 

I too have a Microsoft 365 Family Plan (which I've paid/maintained for years) of which I am the creator and administrator. I cannot access the help feature in Office apps. I received the "Your organization's administrator turned off the service required to use this feature." I have never installed a Work or School account on this computer.

When I try to use admin.microsoft.com, I received the "You can't sign in here with a personal account. Use your work or school account instead." I went to Install Apps and re-installed Microsoft 365 64-bit, the one with CoPilot integrated on 1-22-24.

How do I solve this problem with a Personal Family plan for Microsoft 365?

Thank you

[#5]

@Dan-in-VA 

It seems that there might be an issue with permissions or settings in your Microsoft 365 Family plan, affecting access to the Help function in the Office apps. Here are some steps you can try to resolve the problem:

1. Check your Microsoft 365 account settings:
• Sign in to the Microsoft 365 website at https://account.microsoft.com/.
• Review your account settings to ensure that you are set as the administrator for your Family plan.
2. Check the Office app settings:
• Open one of the Office apps (e.g., Word, Excel).
• Click on "File" and then on "Account."
• Ensure that your Microsoft 365 Family account is displayed correctly.
3. Check administrator rights on your computer:
• Ensure that you are logged into your computer as an administrator.
• Try running the Office apps in administrator mode. Right-click on the Office app icon and choose "Run as Administrator."
4. Contact Microsoft Support:
• If the issue persists, it might be worthwhile to contact Microsoft Support. You can reach out to support by scrolling down on the Microsoft Support page (https://support.microsoft.com/) and clicking on "Contact us."
5. Check for Updates:
• Make sure your Office apps are up to date by checking for updates and installing them.
6. Check Microsoft 365 Service Status Page:
• There could be temporary issues with Microsoft 365 services. Check the Microsoft 365 service status page to ensure all services are functioning properly: https://status.office365.com/

I hope this helps.

[#6]

This response looks super helpful, except that I can't figure out how/where to do this:

"2. Verify Administrator Settings: If you are the administrator of your family plan, log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com) and check if there are any policies or settings that might be restricting certain features. Adjust the settings as needed to allow access to the Help feature."

Where in this site do I check for these policies or settings?
Thanks in advance!
MMT

[#7]

@MayitaReno 

I apologize for any confusion. It seems there might be a misunderstanding. The information provided about checking administrator settings on the Microsoft 365 admin center is more applicable to business or enterprise environments where an administrator manages Office 365 settings.

For Office 365 Family plans, there isn't a dedicated admin center like there is for business plans. Instead, family plan users typically manage their subscriptions and settings through their individual Microsoft accounts.

Here are the steps you can follow to check and adjust your account settings:

1. Sign In to Your Microsoft Account:
• Go to the Microsoft account sign-in page: https://account.microsoft.com/.
• Sign in with the Microsoft account associated with your Office 365 Family subscription.
2. Check Subscription Details:
• Once signed in, navigate to the "Services & subscriptions" section. Here, you should see your Office 365 Family subscription listed.
3. Verify Account Permissions:
• Check if your account has the necessary permissions for managing the subscription. Ensure that your account is designated as the primary or administrator account for the family plan.
4. Support and Help:
• If you are still experiencing issues accessing help features, you can contact Microsoft Support for assistance. On the Microsoft account page, look for a "Help" or "Support" section, and explore options for getting assistance.
5. Browser Compatibility:
• Ensure that you are using a compatible and up-to-date web browser. Some features may not work as expected if you are using an outdated or incompatible browser.

[#8]

@NikolinoDE Why do you keep repeating yourself when the answer is obviously not helping some of us. I have the same issue as Dan-in-VA. I will also the support button gives me the same error blocked by the administrator I don't have.

Thank you,

Dennis

[#9]

@Dennisg2 

I'm not an all-knowing person and I don't speak for everyone here, like some people do.

It helps some and not others.

At the same time, I recommend being more specific about your issue before someone posts something in the forum.

Here's a little help: How I provide more Details.

I ​​wish you the best of luck with Excel.

[#10]

@NikolinoDE 

This is an absolutely worthless thread.  I hope by now that NikolinoDE has been fired.

[#11]

@ttomechkogmailcom 

I don't usually reply to posts like this, ignoring them is best.

But I don't want to leave the ignorant in their ignorance, I like it when people can learn a little more in the course of their existence.

 I'm not an employee of Microsoft and I don't have any kind of working relationship with Microsoft.

I'm a simple user who wants to help other users a little.

Not everyone has to accept my help, some know-it-alls don't need it.

Not every user has to find the help helpful for themselves personally.

General questions without further information about the digital environment of the error also get a general answer.

Helpful for some, not for others, that's life.

Anyway, I hope you have fun writing messages like this. 🙄