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Office Home & Business 2016 won't activate
I have a new Inspiron 15-5558 with Office 2016 installed. I can't activate the software. When I try, I get the message, "Office isn't associated with this account". I've read that this indicates the product key is already in use. I emailed Dell support about this last Saturday and have had no response. Will Dell make this right or will they say it's a Microsoft issue?
ejn63
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November 11th, 2015 03:00
If you purchased Office 2016 with the system (it is additional cost), you'll have a small card with a license key on it (and a separate charge on your purchase order). Use that to activate Office.
The Office that comes pre-installed on the system is a trial version - if you want to activate and use it, you either need to have purchased a license for it or do so now.
ppaquet
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November 11th, 2015 12:00
Hi, Muffinman,
I'm an IT technician and I just went through this painful process. Dell is having issues with stolen product keys. You were probably victim of it yourself. Reach out to Dell and explain your issue, but request to have a new product key sent to you. They wont argue. Otherwise, they're gonna waste your time trying to fix it and then they'll ask you to call Microsoft, who will also waste your time and ask you to call Dell....
So save yourself some precious time and ask Dell for a replacement. They are aware of the issue :)
Regards.
muffinman
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November 11th, 2015 12:00
I purchased Office 2016 installed for $229. I used the product key included with the laptop documentation but was informed that "Office isn't associated with this account" when I logged into a Microsoft account as is required for activation. That indicates to me that the product key I was given is already associated with a Microsoft account. It has already been used to activate Office 2016. I've heard nothing in response to my customer support inquiry and no Dell support personnel has responded to my question here. I purchased the software license for Office from Dell at the same time I ordered my laptop. This isn't a warranty issue, it's a matter of not receiving what I purchased.
muffinman
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November 11th, 2015 13:00
The Dell productivity software forum has a thread addressing this problem. Others have had to call Dell support and are told to mail in the old product key to get a new one. Don't bother emailing Dell support. At least in my case they were unresponsive. Oh wait, yesterday I received a generic "Setting Up Your Computer" email. Maybe that was Dell support's response to my question.
ejn63
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November 11th, 2015 16:00
The product key is not associated with a Microsoft account until you go through the association steps -- here:
https://setup.office.com/?ms.officeurl=setup
muffinman
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November 11th, 2015 17:00
That's my point. I should be able to associate the software with my Microsoft account and that isn't possible. The product key is already associated with some other MS account. Apparently, someone is getting a hold of Office product keys and selling or using them either before Dell obtains them or after.