[Detailed Guide] How to set up Office on Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is a subscription for Microsoft products, including Office.

Since the license is tied to your account, you can set it up anywhere with a network environment, even if you don’t have the installation media or license key at hand.

In this article, we will explain the setup procedure and troubleshooting for Microsoft 365.

Please help us with the initial setup when starting to use Microsoft 365 for the first time or when using Microsoft 365 on another device.

Preparing for Microsoft 365 setup

First, let’s see what you need to set up Microsoft 365.

• account
• License/Product Key

In Microsoft 365, the purchased license is registered to the account and used.

Some paid software requires a license key to be entered each time it is set up, but Microsoft 365 does not need to be entered every time after registering the license to the account once.

You can set up using the purchased license just by signing in from any device, so the advantage is that you can flexibly operate such as adding or changing the device you use.

account

The Microsoft 365 setup will ask you to authenticate with your account in the steps below.

• When I download the installer
• When launching and activating an Office app

Please note that individual and corporate plans have different accounts that can be linked to licenses.

A personal Microsoft account can be created as soon as you have an email address.

If you don’t have one, access your Microsoft account ( https://account.microsoft.com/ ) and create a new one from “Create an account”.

For business licenses, administrators can create accounts and assign licenses, allowing users to set up Microsoft 365 on their own.

License/Product Key

Microsoft 365 is a paid service, so you need to purchase a license.

If you sign in with your account and purchase from Microsoft’s online store, the license will be registered to your account.

If you purchase a license at an EC shop or a physical store other than Microsoft Direct, a “product key” will be issued.

The product key will be used when setting up Microsoft 365, so keep it in a safe place.

Microsoft 365 setup instructions

Now that you have an account and a license, it’s time to start setting up Microsoft 365.

Install Office on your computer

Here are the steps to set up the Office desktop apps on your computer.

How to sign in and set up your account

If you have a purchased license tied to your account, you can download the installer by signing in to your account.

1. Sign in to Office.com ( https://www.office.com/ ).
2. Click Install App.
3. Select your language and Office version and click Install.
4. Run the downloaded installer on your computer.

How to use your product key

If you have purchased a product key, first register the product key to your account and then set it up.

1. Go to Microsoft’s setup menu ( https://office.com/setup ).
2. Sign in with the account you want to associate the product key with.
3. Enter your product key correctly.
4. Click Next.
5. Make sure the product is registered on your account page.

After registering the product key, you do not need to enter the product key every time, and you can get the installer by signing in with your account.

Install it by referring to “How to sign in with an account and set it up”.

Install the mobile app on your smartphone/tablet

If you want to use Microsoft 365 on your smartphone or tablet, install the mobile app.

The mobile app can be installed and used for free from the iOS or Android app store, but the free version has some limited functions.

If you have a paid license for Microsoft 365, sign in with the account associated with the license after installing the app to unlock the features of the paid version.

Mobile apps include “Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint)”, “Outlook”, “Teams”, and “OneDrive”, so get what you need from the app store.

1. Open the app store, search for the app name such as “Office”, and install it.
2. Sign in with an account that has a paid Microsoft 365 license registered.

Error/Troubleshooting

From here, we will introduce how to solve problems when problems occur when installing or starting Microsoft 365 for the first time.

installation does not finish

During the installation of Microsoft 365 communication takes place over the network, so if your internet connection is slow, the installation may take a long time.

If it does not complete after a long time, it is possible that the installer has hung up even though the installation has completed.

Try canceling and restarting and check if Office is installed.

If your network speed is preventing the installation from completing, here are some solutions:

• Connect to a faster line and reinstall
• Download the offline installer and install offline

However, in the case of Microsoft 365, downloading and installing the offline installer takes a very long time, so if possible, we recommend reinstalling in the online environment.

An error occurred during installation, the wrong version

If an error occurs during installation, or if you installed the 32-bit and 64-bit versions by mistake, reinstall Office.

When reinstalling, an error may occur again if the previous version of the Office program remains.

Uninstall it completely using the Office repair tool, then reinstall it.

1. Download and run the “Easy Fix Tool” from Microsoft’s support site.
2. Select the version to uninstall and click Next.
3. When the completion message is displayed, restart the computer.
4. After the reboot, the rest of the uninstall tool will begin. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the uninstallation.
5. Once the uninstall is complete, download and install the correct Office version installer.

Does not start or behaves strangely

The Windows PC version of Microsoft 365 includes an Office repair program.

If your Office apps behave strangely, try repairing them first.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click Programs and Features.
3. Select Microsoft 365 and click Change.
4. Select “Quick Repair”, click “Repair” and wait for it to finish.
5. If quick repair doesn’t work, run online repair.

activation error

There are three main possible causes for the display of “unlicensed product”.

• wrong account
• You are using an expired license
• Multiple Microsoft 365 conflicts on your computer

Let’s see how to handle each case.

Make sure your account is correct

If the account you are signed in with and the Microsoft 365 license are not linked, you cannot activate the license.

If you get an error when activating the license, please check if the account type is correct.

For example, trying to activate Microsoft 365 for business with a personal Microsoft account will result in an error.

Please be aware that it is especially easy to make mistakes if you have multiple accounts, or if you use separate accounts for work and personal use.

Check license expiration date

If your Microsoft 365 license has expired, you will not be able to activate Office.

For personal licenses, you can check the expiration date of your product license by signing in using the steps below.

For corporate licenses, try contacting your administrator.

1. Sign in to Office.com ( https://www.office.com/ ).
2. Click your user icon in the top right and click Microsoft Account.
3. Click Services & Subscriptions.
4. Check your Microsoft 365 expiration date. If expired, please renew or purchase a new license.

Check if Microsoft 365 is installed twice on your computer

When you buy a new license or change to a different version, you may have multiple versions of Microsoft 365 installed on your computer.

If there are multiple Microsoft 365, activation may fail, so first check if Microsoft 365 is duplicated.

The confirmation procedure in Windows is as follows.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click Programs and Features.
3. Search for “Microsoft 365” in the search box or sort by name to see if you have multiple installations.

If you find multiple versions of Office, uninstall the version you aren’t using.

Article Summary

We introduced the setup procedure and troubleshooting for Microsoft 365.

The advantage of Microsoft 365 is that by registering a license to your account, you do not need to manage installation media or license keys, and you can easily install over the network from outside.

In addition, licensed products are automatically updated to the latest version, so you can always use the latest version without updating manually.

Especially when a company owns a large number of licenses, the trouble of license management and setup will be greatly reduced.

NEC Networks & System Integration also offers a wide range of solutions that can be used in combination with Microsoft 365.

If you are considering introducing it, please feel free to contact us.