Quick answer: Uninstall any trial or old Office, download the installer from the official Microsoft link in your delivery email (it matches your edition and version), run it, open Word, go to File, Account, click Change Product Key, enter your 25-character key and click Activate. The panel then reads “Product Activated”. If online activation is refused, use telephone activation or our free Confirmation ID service.
Every Office licence sold on GetDigiMarket, from Office 2016 Professional Plus to Office 2024 Professional Plus, is delivered by email within seconds of payment with the key and the official download link for the matching version and edition. This guide takes you from that email to a fully activated installation. The order of the steps matters: most activation problems we see are caused by installing before removing an old copy, or by installing a version that does not match the key.
Step 1: check Windows and remove anything in the way
Office 2021 and 2024 require Windows 10 or Windows 11. Office 2016 and 2019 also run on Windows 10 and 11 (2019 does not install on Windows 7 or 8.1). Check Settings, System, About for the Windows version, and note whether it is 64-bit, which almost every modern PC is.
Then open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, and look for any existing Office product: a Microsoft 365 trial that came with the PC, an older Office, or a single app such as a standalone Excel. Uninstall it. If the uninstaller fails or leaves pieces behind, run Microsoft’s Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA), choose Office, then the uninstall option, and let it remove everything. Restart the PC. Skipping this step is the single most common reason a new key is refused, because the leftover licence tokens intercept it.
Step 2: download the installer for your edition
Open your delivery email and click the Microsoft download link. It leads to the installer for the version and edition on your order. Which installer you receive depends on the product:
| Product | Installer type | What it downloads |
|---|---|---|
| Office 2024 Professional Plus | Office Deployment Tool with ready configuration, or direct setup link | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher (2021) |
| Office 2024 Standard LTSC | Office Deployment Tool with LTSC configuration | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote |
| Office 2021 Professional Plus | Direct setup link | Full suite with Access and Publisher |
| Office 2019 / 2016 Professional Plus | Direct setup link | Full suite |
| Office Home & Business, Home & Student | Redeem at Microsoft, then download | Suite per edition |
With a direct setup link, run the downloaded file and wait; the installer streams one to three gigabytes from Microsoft. With the Office Deployment Tool, extract it to a folder such as C:ODT, place the supplied configuration.xml beside setup.exe, open Command Prompt in that folder and run setup.exe /configure configuration.xml. The tool downloads and installs the product named in the file. Both routes install Click-to-Run Office, which updates itself through File, Account, Update Options.
Install 64-bit unless an add-in you depend on is 32-bit only. The ODT configuration sets this with OfficeClientEdition="64".
Step 3: enter the product key
When installation finishes, open Word. A sign-in prompt may appear; for a perpetual licence you can close it. Go to File, Account. Under Product Information click Change Product Key (on some builds “Change License”). Enter the key from your email, with or without hyphens, and click Activate or Next. Online activation takes a few seconds. The panel changes to “Product Activated” with the product name under it.
If File, Account shows a different product name from your order (Microsoft 365 instead of Office 2024, or Home & Business instead of Professional Plus), the wrong installer ran. Uninstall it and use the link from the delivery email.
Step 4: verify and update
Click Update Options, Update Now. Office downloads the current build; the version number appears under About. For the LTSC edition updates are security-only, which is by design. Run Word, Excel and Outlook once each to confirm they open without the “Unlicensed Product” banner. From the command line, cscript "C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice16ospp.vbs" /dstatus should report LICENSE STATUS: ---LICENSED---.
When activation fails
“This product key has already been used” or 0xC004C060. The key was activated on a previous installation (often your own) or Microsoft’s online check refused it. Use telephone activation: the wizard offers “activate by telephone” after the online failure, or print the installation ID with cscript ospp.vbs /dinstid and send it to our Confirmation ID service. Our phone activation guide walks through it.
0xC004F050, key invalid. Edition or version mismatch. Compare File, Account with your order and install the correct product.
Change Product Key button missing. A trial is still attached. Remove it with cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:XXXXX (the last five characters shown by /dstatus), then enter your key with /inpkey and activate with /act.
Office keeps asking to sign in. A Microsoft 365 build was installed. Uninstall it and install the perpetual version from your link; perpetual Office on Windows activates with the key, not with an account.
Error 30015 or 30088 during installation. A previous installation was not fully removed, or the download was interrupted. Run SaRA’s uninstall, restart, and run the installer again on a stable connection.
Our article on keys reported as used or blocked covers the remaining cases and when a replacement applies.
Office on Mac
Office for Mac installs and activates differently: the key is redeemed to a Microsoft account and Office activates by signing in. Windows editions such as Professional Plus do not run on macOS. Read our Office for Mac licence guide if your computer is a Mac.
Which edition is which
Professional Plus (2016, 2019, 2021, 2024) includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access and, in 2021 and earlier, Publisher. It is the fullest perpetual edition and the one most of our customers choose; Office 2024 Professional Plus is the current version.
Standard LTSC 2024 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, installs through the Office Deployment Tool, and receives security updates until 9 October 2029. See Office 2024 Standard LTSC.
Home & Business includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote for one PC or Mac; Home (2024) drops Outlook. Both are redeemed to a Microsoft account.
Older versions. Office 2016 and 2019 reached the end of extended support on 14 October 2025 and Office 2021 on 13 October 2026. They still install and activate, and remain the cheapest way to run a full suite on an older PC, but they no longer receive security updates. For a PC you will keep for years, 2024 is the version to install.
Reinstalling Office later
Keep the delivery email. To reinstall on the same PC after a reset, run the same installer and enter the same key; Office reactivates. To move to a new PC on a single-device licence, uninstall on the old machine first, then install and activate on the new one; if online activation is refused because the previous activation is still counted, telephone activation resolves it.
Summary
- Uninstall any trial or old Office; restart.
- Download the installer from the official link in your delivery email.
- Install 64-bit Office.
- File, Account, Change Product Key, enter the key, Activate.
- Update Now, then confirm “Product Activated”.
- If online activation is refused, activate by telephone or send us the installation ID.
Every licence is covered by our 180-day money-back guarantee: if a key cannot be activated and we cannot fix it, you get a replacement or a refund.
Installing Office on a PC with limited bandwidth
The Click-to-Run installer streams Office from Microsoft’s servers, which is convenient on a fast line and painful on a slow or metered one. Two options help. First, the Office Deployment Tool can download the installation files once with setup.exe /download configuration.xml and then install from that local copy on several PCs with setup.exe /configure configuration.xml, which is how we recommend setting up the five machines covered by a 5-PC licence such as Office 2021 Professional Plus for 5 PCs. Second, the installer resumes if the connection drops; leave the window open and it continues when the network returns rather than starting again.
Keeping the key safe
The product key is the licence. Store the delivery email in a folder you will find again, or copy the key into your password manager with the product name and the date. If you lose it, contact us with the order number or the email address used at checkout and we resend the delivery email; the key does not change. A key written on a sticky note and lost is the most common reason customers contact us a year later, and it is entirely avoidable.
Related guides: Office 2024 Standard LTSC vs Professional Plus and Office 2024 Professional Plus explained.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I download Office with my product key?
From the official Microsoft link in your delivery email. It points to the installer for your exact version and edition, which is why we ask customers not to use a generic installer found elsewhere.
Do I need a Microsoft account to activate Office 2024 Professional Plus?
No. Professional Plus and LTSC editions on Windows activate with the product key under File, Account. A Microsoft account is only required for Home & Business, Home & Student and Mac editions, which are redeemed to an account.
Can I install Office on two computers with one key?
A 1-PC licence covers one installation. Our 5-PC listings, such as Office 2021 Professional Plus for 5 PCs, cover five. The device count is stated in every product title.
Should I install 32-bit or 64-bit Office?
64-bit on any modern PC. Choose 32-bit only if you depend on an old add-in that is 32-bit only. The bitness of a standalone app such as Visio must match the suite.
How long does the installation take?
About ten to twenty minutes on a typical broadband connection, most of it the download. Activation takes seconds.
Office installed but shows “Unlicensed Product”. What now?
The key has not been entered or a trial is still attached. Go to File, Account, Change Product Key and enter the key; if the button is missing, remove the trial with ospp.vbs /unpkey and enter the key with /inpkey.