Microsoft 365 Apps SHOULD NOT overwrite Office 2019/2021 one-time retail installs
I want to raise a serious concern about Microsoft 365 Apps being imposed over existing Office 2019/2021 installations that were activated with legitimate one-time installation retail keys. In our case, these are not Microsoft 365 subscriptions and they are not licenses we can simply deactivate and reactivate freely. They are one-time installation retail keys. Once the product has been installed and activated, removing Office and reinstalling it later can make the original key unusable or trigger “already used” activation problems. That is precisely why the current behavior is so damaging. We have PCs with legitimate Office 2019/2021 installations. These machines did not request a migration to Microsoft 365 Apps. However, after internet connection, Office update activity, or Microsoft account interaction, Office appears to silently update, convert, or replace the existing retail installation with the Microsoft 365 Apps version. This is not a minor inconvenience. It creates a serious licensing and operational problem: -A valid one-time Office 2019/2021 installation is replaced by Microsoft 365 Apps without clear, explicit consent. -The original retail installation is no longer cleanly usable. -Fixing the issue requires uninstalling Office, removing Click-to-Run/licensing/account leftovers, and reinstalling the previous Office 2019/2021 version. -But because these keys are one-time installation keys, that reinstall process can render the original key unusable or create activation failures. -In practice, a forced Microsoft 365 conversion can destroy the value of a legitimate one-time Office license. From a user’s perspective, this looks less like a normal software update and more like an exploitative commercial strategy: using Microsoft’s control over Office updates, account sign-ins, Click-to-Run, and activation systems to push already-paid retail users toward Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Even if Microsoft does not intend that result, the practical effect is that users who already paid for Office 2019/2021 can lose practical access to their licensed product and are then nudged toward paying again through a subscription. This should not happen. A perpetual or one-time installation Office license and Microsoft 365 Apps are different products with different licensing models. Microsoft should not silently replace or convert one into the other because a Microsoft 365 account exists on the PC, because the user signs into Office, because OneDrive is present, or because Office updates are enabled. At minimum, Microsoft should provide: -A clear opt-in confirmation before replacing, converting, upgrading, or rebranding Office 2019/2021 retail installations as Microsoft 365 Apps. -A supported way to block Microsoft 365 Apps from taking over one-time installation Office versions. -A clean removal tool that fully removes Microsoft 365 Apps, Click-to-Run leftovers, licensing remnants, and account-based activation conflicts. -A reliable way to restore the original Office 2019/2021 retail installation without invalidating or losing the original one-time key. -Clear separation between Windows account sign-in, OneDrive sign-in, Microsoft 365 entitlement, and local Office retail activation. Users who purchased legitimate one-time installation Office licenses should not be forced into Microsoft 365 Apps by unclear update behavior. If Microsoft wants users to move to Microsoft 365, that should be a deliberate, informed choice — not a silent process that leaves the user cleaning up the installation and losing access to a paid retail license. I am not asking how to install Microsoft 365. I am asking Microsoft to stop Microsoft 365 Apps from taking over valid one-time Office 2019/2021 installations without explicit consent.
Issue with viewing mode for E5 licensed users
I'm a sysadmin for a Health care provider in Sweden and we have an issue with users with an E5 license loading into Office apps in view-mode. As far as I know we are a coupe of organisations providing health care that have this same issue. Background: We have a mix of F3 and E5 licenses and sometimes the F3 licensed users need to view documents that contains info that isn't allowed to be saved in the cloud. To minimize the popups that show up when a user starts word unlicensed we have a GPO (viewer mode) that says that it should open i view-mode. Per my understanding this GPO is device based and not user based. However, this also affects the users of E5 license who regularly change workstations, easily 5-10 devices in a day. Since they should be able to view and edit documents in office apps it causes frustration and confusion when they load into view-mode and have to log out and then in again (or update license) and restart the program. Our computers devices are Microsoft Entra hybrid joined and shared computer licensing is enabled. Are there any solutions or viable workarounds for this issue? It's not complicated for users to handle but frustrating and causes a lot of tickets to the support team. Unsure if I'll be able to participate due to the time zone difference but will appreciate any and all help. /Per Ekholm
Math Assistant in OneNote M365 no longer calculates results
I’m a mathematics professor in higher education, and I’ve relied heavily on OneNote for Windows 10 — especially its Math Assistant feature — to support my teaching. While we teach at the university level, the mathematics involved is foundational: from basic first-degree equations to partial derivatives of multivariable functions, limits, definite and indefinite integrals, 2D graphing, and inequality plots. This isn’t advanced research mathematics — it’s core material for management and accounting students. In the previous version of OneNote, I could write an equation, click “Math,” and immediately get the final result. That was extremely helpful for classroom demonstrations and student self-checking. In the current version (OneNote M365), the “Math” button still appears, and it does solve simple equations — but it fails to graph more complex functions and is significantly slower than the previous version. Is Microsoft working to restore the ability to calculate final results and draw 2D graphs reliably, as the previous version did? This feature is essential for teaching and productivity. I appreciate any clarification. Best regards, José Maria E. G. Salazar Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração de Lisboa (ISCAL)
Remove "phantom" notebooks from "NOTEBOOKS TO OPEN"
Hello I Use Microsoft/Office 365 provide by by education employer. I make extensive use of OneNote with the Notebooks hosted on OneDrive/ Sharepoint servers. This all works well and does what I need. However, when I wish to open an existing NoteBook in the Windows 10/Office 365 desktop client, some of the Notebooks are "phantom" i.e. they don't exist as files on the OneDrive/Sharepoint server. The one thing these notebooks have in common is their notebook location/name: https://<sharepoint server>/ <something else>/^.Document/<one note name> . The presence of the "^" character in the location indicates these Notebooks don't actually exist. Now a guess is they were notebooks I created when trying to understand Onenote - they were deleted - but somehow the link wasn't "cleaned up". Does anyone know 1. Where these "phantom links" are stored and 2. how to delete them so the only notebooks I see in Onenote are ones that actually are hosted on one of my MS365/OneDrive/sharepoint locations? Thanks CliveOneNote on ios blinking and keyboard goes away
I open OneNote on my iPhone 12, the line at the bottom of the screen blinks over and over and I cannot get the keyboard to come up and stay up. Every time I touch the screen it comes up and then drops back down. Anyone else seen this? Was going to call help desk but thought I’d see if this was also out here in the community. Thanks y’all. Took a video of it too. I’m tapping the screen every time you see the keyboard come up.Staff notebook in non education tenants?
The staff notebook looks like a good solution to manage a team as a teamleader. As a teamleader I have one notebook with a section for every employee. According to the documentation this feature is only available for education licensed customers. However, I have seen that these types of notebooks can also be created in a enterprise subscription. Is this a supported scenario? Can we use the types of notebooks with business and enterprise licenses (e.g. E3) as well? Thanks for any feedback.
Microsoft Sway - Restricting Access to Templates
Hi all, We are assessing the usage of Sway for internal project and change communications, and have a concern that those with access to Sway could create content which does not follow internal approved designs and patterns. Are there mechanisms in place to allow us to control which templates the content creator could use as a baseline for their content, whether that involves access to explicitly approved templates only (workflows for approvals??), or restricting access to marketplace or generally available content? TIA Geoff
