Quick office question

[Big Jim]

setting up new machine for customer, they currently have office 2013 (Home and student)
it isn't linked to their MS account and they can't find the activation key.

Is it 100% going to have to be a new license or can you somehow link the software to the MS account with it being installed and activated.

 

[Blues]

I believe anything older than 2016 cannot be linked to a MS account and I am not even certain 2016 can be my general understanding is that the standalone versions are just that standalone and are not nor ever were to integrate and backup license with a MS Account. I would also add that if they hadn't been using a MS Account or used it in very limited situations it is likely that even if the Office Product supported it since it is a standalone version it wouldn't have required it and likely was never linked meaning there won't be a link to the license to even recover it.

 

[britechguy]

They need a new version.

If you don't have the license key, you're doomed.

 

[Markverhyden]

From what I remember 2013 was the first year they offered MS account linkage. But if it wasn't linked to begin with there is no way around it. But they should get the current version anyways. EOL for 2013 was April of this year.

Edit: does the old machine still work? If so you could try creating a MS account at account.microsoft.com. Once it's working then try to log into that account in Office 2013. If it shows up in the MS account you might be able to re-install that way.

 

[britechguy]

@Markverhyden

Just FYI, on my other machines that have Office 2016, even though it shows up in Office itself as being licensed to the respective Microsoft Accounts the Windows user IDs log in with, there's nothing on the Microsoft Account side that shows anything for them.

I've always found that very strange.

 

[Markverhyden]

@Markverhyden

Just FYI, on my other machines that have Office 2016, even though it shows up in Office itself as being licensed to the respective Microsoft Accounts the Windows user IDs log in with, there's nothing on the Microsoft Account side that shows anything for them.

I've always found that very strange.

I vaguely remember subs not showing up years ago in MS accounts. Never the less trying to retroactively add a new account might work. But I'd still be advising them to get a current sub for M365. It's not like it's hundreds of £'s every year. And if they're like most retail users one of the free clones would work just as well.

 

[Blues]

Personally the only MS app I haven't found a suitable replacement for is Outlook so yeah really I would push toward something like Libre if they don't want to pay for a new license.

 

[britechguy]

the only MS app I haven't found a suitable replacement for is Outlook

And why is that? This is a sincere question, as I can think of a number of alternatives to Outlook that suit "typical" use cases.

There has to be an Outlook feature or features you feel other options cannot replace. I'd like to know what those are, in your opinion.

 

[Blues]

There isn't really any feature that isn't replicated for me it is the general UI of it the closest I have found and used was Thunderbird but there were some issues I had with it plus if you don't want to pay it has some annoying ad sections in the UI.

I also gave up on the quest to find one a couple years ago maybe I should and free is a great option if you have recommendations.

I do have a couple of old PST archive files too I like to keep access too and have also had issues with any other than Outlook reading and searching them.

 

[britechguy]

it has some annoying ad sections in the UI.

Where? I've been using Tbird with blind clients who don't have Outlook and have never once encountered an ad in the Tbird UI.

 

[Blues]

@britechguy it has been some time and I could be confusing applications so I honestly can't give a proper answer at this time.

 

[sapphirescales]

If I recall correctly Office 2013 was the last version that stored the product key in the registry. Using a free program like Produkey should reveal it. You still need the installer .exe for it though.

Also, I oftentimes find the installer .exe which includes the product key in the user's Downloads folder so you might want to look there. If it has the product key built into the .exe then it will be fairly small like 5MB because it's not a standalone installer and simply launches the download and applies the product key. Don't rename the .exe file as I think that's how it knows what product key to use.

All this being said Office 2013 is no longer getting security updates so unless this is a computer that's used offline in a special use case then I would recommend buying a new copy.

 

[Larry Sabo]

There isn't really any feature that isn't replicated for me it is the general UI of it the closest I have found and used was Thunderbird but there were some issues I had with it plus if you don't want to pay it has some annoying ad sections in the UI.

Perhaps you are thinking of eM Client? It's an excellent alternative for Outlook if you must switch, and it imports PSTs. I have yet to see ads in TB and have been using it for years as my default. I've had many cases where Outlook was problematic and TB just worked.

 

[Big Jim]

we have opted for openoffice for now and the customer will feedback if they can't get on with it.

she really seemed unbothered by the whole situation though, makes my life easier I guess.

FWIW, the old laptop is still working just extremely slow (celeron 847 CPU) I did log in to the customer's MS account in office but that doesn't register the software to their account (I already knew this from previous experience but tried it anyway)

 

[Sky-Knight]

Just popped into this thread to ensure someone pointed out Office 2013 died this year, it was done so I'm good!

Also, will point out that:

Microsoft Office 2016 - Microsoft Lifecycle

Microsoft Office 2016 follows the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.

learn.microsoft.com

Microsoft Office 2019 - Microsoft Lifecycle

Microsoft Office 2019 follows the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.

learn.microsoft.com

Both terminate on the great and dreadful date of Oct 14, 2025, the same day Windows 10 dies.

Office 2021 - Microsoft Lifecycle

Office 2021 follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy.

learn.microsoft.com

You will note that Office 2021 doesn't have a standard Lifecycle, it's now a "modern" lifecycle. Which has a total lifespan of 5 years. The clock on that product is already ticking, meaning anyone that purchases it right now only has 3 years left. It dies on Oct 13, 2026.

If you want to use Microsoft Office, you will do so via subscription. You can pay per year, or you can pay every half decade, but you will pay. Your only alternative is to move to alternate products if you wish to escape from this payment model.

 

[callthatgirl]

When clients call saying they are using anything older then 2013, immediate ticket booked. Upgraded, recon their Outlook/end up teaching on 365 Onedrive, setup backup, some training, good 2 hours of billable work.