What Does 'Unlicensed Product' Mean in Microsoft Office

 Have you ever tried to open Microsoft Word only to see ‘Unlicensed Product’ flash on your screen? You are not the only one. This is a common problem among users and can be annoying especially if you depend on Word for work, school, or even personal projects. But do not panic this is because most of the time this kind of error does not require much effort to fix after identifying the cause. Here is an overview that will shed some light on the reasons as to why this error occurs and the potation methods.

The “Unlicensed Product” error in Microsoft Word occurs when the software program has detected the problem with your Office activation. In simple terms, it states that the version of Word has not been activated properly or it has been deactivated already. This could be due to many reasons including but not limited to expired licenses, software activation or even your microsoft account may have issues.

Seeing this message means that Word may restrict access to some features or request that the user activate the product in order to use it fully. Sometimes you may also receive the above message along with the one stating “Product Activation Failed”

“Unlicensed Product” Error Causes

Expired Microsoft Office Subscription: Using a subscription-based version of Office, such as Microsoft 365, and paying for membership for some period and later on stopping paying for it will cause this ‘unlicensed product’ error

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Corrupted or Missing Product Key: If you are using Office was activated using a one-time product key, the key may be corrupt, missing, or may have expired. This can occur if you entered an incorrect code or the activation file was corrupted.

Problems with your account or logging in: Making use of your Microsoft account is critical because it is needed for the activation of office. If something is incorrect with your account (for instance, you are logged in to the wrong account or there is some error relating to your account), this message may appear.

Software Problem or Old Version of the Program: the software may simply have a bug, or its update has not yet been finalized, which may lead to the failure of activation despite the fact that the user has a legitimate license.

Overlapping or Competing Products: If more than one Office version is present, or if your Office suite has been pirated, rendering it incompatible with Word, chances are that the installation will not detect the appropriate license.

Fixing “ Unlicensed product” issue

1. Verify the Office subscription or license you have scanned in.

For Microsoft 365: Please go to the page for Microsoft accounts and check that the subscription is still active. In the event that the subscription has lapsed, it will be necessary to reactivate it in order to restore normal service.
With Office 2019 or Office 2021: In case you possess a one-off product key, make sure it is currently not expired. However, if it is damaged beyond repairs, microsoft support may be of help.