How to Transfer Licence to New PC

[Metzke]

I have Office 2019 on my old laptop the last four years.
I now have a new Laptop and have re-installed Office onto it one month ago.
All working fine.


Some days ago I started getting popups when launching office, saying that it needed registering.
I ignored it as I thought all was working ok.


However, two days ago Office stopped working.
One month after having re-installed it.


I tried registration with my key.
Said it was invalid.


The licence is for one device only.


If I unistall from my old laptop will the licence then become valid?
Is there any risk that I will lose access to Office entirely and not be able to re-install on the old laptop?


Not sure what route to take.
Please help.

 

[mintjulep]

It's a bit of a pain, and you'll likely need to call MS support to do it.

https://www.wikihow.com/Transfer-Microsoft-Office-to-Another-Computer

 

[Mike Lewis]

I can't add anything to the above answer. But keep in mind that a new version of Microsoft Office is due to be released later this year. This will be designated Office 2024, and will be available for outright purchase - on a single machine - just like your existing Office 2019.

See here for some further info.

It's not clear if there is an upgrade path to this new version. If there is not, and if you decide you need this latest version, you might prefer to get this new version for your new laptop and keep the existing version on the old machine.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

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[Metzke]

Thanks both for the reply.
I've since contacted MS via chat and they said that the key given me by the vendor has been "Multiplied" or pirated. Not sure if they are right.
I've contacted the vendor and asked them to give me the original key as MS has suggested.

The vendor said that
"the key is valid on one device and can be used there lifetime. If you change device you need a new activation/key!"

Not sure if he is right.

Anyway, I'm now going to image my old laptop then uninstall Office then try to use the key on my new install on the new laptop.

If it fails then at least I'll be able to recover the image and the working Outlook on the old laptop whilst I decide what to do.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Sounds like you had a bad deal. I hope you manage to get it sorted.

Please let us know if you succeed. I'm sure other people would like to have an answer to this question.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

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[pmonett]

As far as needing a new key is concerned, the vendor is indeed correct and Microsoft would tell you the same thing.
I have an old laptop with an Office 2010 license. I have since bought a new laptop and, when I tried to install my Office 2010 on it, it replied that my was invalid.
I contacted MS on the subject and was told that, indeed, the key is tied to the device. So I have kept the old laptop exclusively for the Office stuff I need to do, and do the rest of my work on the new laptop.
When the old laptop dies, I'll think about purchasing a new Office license.

I've got nothing to hide, and I demand that you justify what right you have to ask.

 

[teknance]

I transitioned away from Microsoft Office a while back and have been managing well with LibreOffice. Additionally, I find the free online version of Office (Link) and Google Workspace to be suitable alternatives for my needs.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Teknance, I agree that LibreOffice is a good alternative. But, I think that the free version of Microsoft Office that you mentioned is in fact the web-based or mobile version of Microsoft 365. My understanding is that this only provides basic viewing and editing features, and in any case you need a subscription to the desktop version of Microsoft 365 in order to unlock many of those features. (Not totally sure about that.)

Still, worth keeping it in mind.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[combo]

From the description here, Office is a web based set of applications with limited, but not so basic set of features. It seems to be MS' answer to Google Docs.

combo

 

[Mike Lewis]

This thread has reminded me of my own experience some years ago. I bought a copy of Office - it might have been 2010. It was outright purchase - they didn't do subscriptions in those days.

The licence stated quite clearly that you could install it on a maximum of two computers at any one time. So I installed it on my desktop and my laptop. In both cases, I went through the registration process, using a key that was printed on the CD case. No problem.

But then I wanted to give the laptop to a family member and buy a new one for myself. I dutifully removed the software from the old laptop, but I couldn't see any way to de-register it. (I think someone on a forum - might have been Tek Tips - said I would have to phone Microsoft, but I never got round to doing that.) Regardless, I installed it on the new machine, and registered it, using the same key. No problem.

So then I decided to install it on another desktop. Just out of curiosity, I did that without de-installing it from one of the other systems. Again, no problem. And than I did that again. So I ended up with four simultaneous installations.

I hasten to add that I never actually used it on more than the statutory two computers, so it was all quite legal. But the point I'm making is that, just because Microsoft doesn't give you an easy way of transferring software to a new machine, that doesn't mean it's technically impossible. (Well, that was the case in 2010, at least.)

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[teknance]

From the description here, Office is a web based set of applications with limited, but not so basic set of features. It seems to be MS' answer to Google Docs.

Yes, that's exactly what it is. It has limited features, for example the Excel only has limited rows and columns which is still enough for basic use.

 

[teknance]

This thread has reminded me of my own experience some years ago. I bought a copy of Office - it might have been 2010. It was outright purchase - they didn't do subscriptions in those days.

The licence stated quite clearly that you could install it on a maximum of two computers at any one time. So I installed it on my desktop and my laptop. In both cases, I went through the registration process, using a key that was printed on the CD case. No problem.

But then I wanted to give the laptop to a family member and buy a new one for myself. I dutifully removed the software from the old laptop, but I couldn't see any way to de-register it. (I think someone on a forum - might have been Tek Tips - said I would have to phone Microsoft, but I never got round to doing that.) Regardless, I installed it on the new machine, and registered it, using the same key. No problem.

So then I decided to install it on another desktop. Just out of curiosity, I did that without de-installing it from one of the other systems. Again, no problem. And than I did that again. So I ended up with four simultaneous installations.

I hasten to add that I never actually used it on more than the statutory two computers, so it was all quite legal. But the point I'm making is that, just because Microsoft doesn't give you an easy way of transferring software to a new machine, that doesn't mean it's technically impossible. (Well, that was the case in 2010, at least.)

Mike

Thanks for sharing your experience with the activation process for the older version of Office, Mike. It's fascinating that despite the license's limitation of allowing only two simultaneous installations, you managed to register the same key multiple times without encountering any issues. This highlights how software activation systems have become more stringent over the years. In my opinion, the version from 2010 was the best version of Microsoft Office. I must admit, I was disappointed with the newer versions, which led me to switch to an open-source solution.