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If you're simply looking for the steps to download and install or reinstall Office, see Install Office on your PC or Mac.

For issues when installing Office, try downloading the Support and Recovery Assistant tool. (For information about this tool, go here.)

If this tool doesn’t resolve your issue, choose a troubleshooting category from the options below.

Tip: This article is for Office installation issues. Try one of these links if you're looking for help with:
 Outlook (for email issues), Skype for Business, or OneDrive for Business.

Choose a troubleshooting category

Please leave us a comment at the bottom of this page to let us know if any of these solutions helped you, and if not, use the comment field to tell us more about your issue.

Try these fixes for common installation issues

For problems during install try uninstalling and reinstalling Office

For problems during install, try restarting your computer and then reinstalling Office using the steps in Install Office on your PC or Mac. If that doesn't help, use this easy fix to completely uninstall and then reinstall Office.

  1. Click this easy fix button to uninstall Office.

    Download

  2. For the remaining steps showing how to save and use the easy fix, follow the steps for your browser:

    Edge or Internet Explorer

    1. At the bottom of the browser window, select Open to open the O15CTRRemove.diagcab file.

      Select Open to open the O15CTRRemove.diagcab easy fix tool

      If the file doesn’t open automatically, choose Save > Open Folder, and then double-click the file (it should start with "O15CTRRemove") to run the easy fix tool.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

    Chrome

    1. In the lower-lower left corner select the o15CTRRemove file and from the drop down, select Show in folder.

      From the dropdown, select Show in folder

      Double-click the download, o15CTRRemove to run the easy fix tool.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

    Firefox

    1. Select Save File, and then OK.

      Save O15CTRRemove.diagcab file in Firefox

      In the upper-right browser window, select Show all downloads. In the Library, select Downloads > O15CTRRemove.diagcab, and then select the folder icon. Double-click the O15CTRRemove.diagcab.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

Install Office

To reinstall Office select the version you want to install and follow those steps.

Microsoft 365
Office 2021
Office 2019
Office 2016
Office 2013

You're a student or teacher and don't see an option to install Office

If you're a student or teacher and don't see an option to install Office, you may be eligible for Office 365 Education, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. All you need to get started is a valid school email address. For more information, see Get Microsoft 365 for free.

Before you install Office, be sure to check the System requirements for Office. For example, you can't install Office on a Chromebook or a computer running Windows Vista or Windows XP. However, you may still be able to use Office Online in your computer's browser.

You don't see an option to install Office, check if you have a license

  1. If you're not already signed in, go to http://portal.office.com and sign in with your work or school account.

    Note: If you're unable to sign in with your work or school account, you may be signing in to the wrong Microsoft 365 service, see Where to sign in to Microsoft 365.

  2. From the browser header, go to Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud > My app settings > Microsoft 365.

    Office 365 Settings pane
  3. On the My account page, select Subscriptions.

    Office 365 Subscriptions page

    You’ll see the services that you're licensed to use, such as the latest desktop version of Office, SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business, and Exchange Online. If you don't see The latest desktop version of Office in the list (or Project or Visio if your organization has a plan that includes those applications) your admin probably hasn't assigned an Office license to you. If you're an admin, see Assign licenses to users in Microsoft 365 for business. For more information, see What Microsoft 365 business product or license do I have?

    If you have a license, then you're ready to Install Office on your PC or Mac, (or install Project or Visio).

Not all Microsoft 365 plans come with Office. If your organization has a Microsoft 365 plan that doesn't include the latest desktop version of Office, the Microsoft 365 admin can switch to a different Microsoft 365 plan or subscription.

If you're an admin and you aren't sure what plan you have, follow the steps in What Microsoft 365 for business subscription do I have? For a comparison of plans, see compare small business plans or compare enterprise plans.

Computers running Windows Vista or Windows XP don't meet system requirements to install Office

You can't install Office 2016 or Office 2013 on computers running Windows Vista or Windows XP as these operating systems don't meet the system requirements for Office. Attempting to install Office on a computer running an unsupported operating system will result in an error. (If you're interested in learning more about the latest version of Windows, see Windows 11 specifications for details.)

If your computer can't install the full desktop version of Office because your computer doesn't meet the system requirements, you can try using Office Online in your computer's browser. See the Browsers section on the system requirements page.

Office install hangs or is stuck at 90%

If Office is taking a long time to install you may be on a slow connection or you another install or update may be happening in the background. See Office is taking long to install or Office hangs at 90% for possible solutions.

You don't want all the Office applications or you want to install Office on a different drive

With Microsoft 365 you can’t custom select which Office applications you want to install. However, you can delete shortcuts to applications you don’t plan to use.

Additionally, you can only install Office on the system drive where your operating system is installed. That’s usually your C: drive.

Tip: If you decide you want to purchase a stand-alone Office application, you can go to https://products.office.com/ and do a search for the application you want to buy.

You're having trouble signing in

Microsoft has more than one kind of Microsoft 365 service and each service has its own sign-in page. Where you sign in depends on which service you're using.

If you use one of the services listed under the Office for business plans, you sign in at https://portal.office.com with the username and password that you created or someone in your organization created on your behalf.

If you use Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet in China, sign in at https://login.partner.microsoftonline.cn with the username and password that you created or someone in your organization in China created on your behalf.

For more information about accounts, see Where to sign in to Microsoft 365 or What is my user ID and why do I need it for Microsoft 365 for business?

If you can't remember your password and need to reset it, go to passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/.

Known issues with Office and Windows 10

See, Known issues with Office and Windows 10.

Error messages or install greyed out

Install button doesn't install Office

If the Install button is grayed out, your Microsoft 365 subscription might have expired. Select your subscription from the list below to see the steps for how to renew it. See, Renew Microsoft 365 for business

For other solutions, see Install button doesn't install Office.

You get a KERNEL32.dll error when trying to install Office and other system requirement issues

Check that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to install Office. You need a computer running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10. See System requirements for Office for a list of additional requirements.

If you're trying to install Office on a computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you may get an error that says the dynamic library KERNEL 32.dll can't be located. This occurs because the Microsoft 365 desktop apps aren't supported on these versions of Windows. For more information, see Why can’t I install Office on Windows XP or Windows Vista?

If you're not sure which operating system you have, see Which Windows operating system am I running? or Find the OS X version and build number on your Mac.

Error messages when installing Office

You might get an error that has a number and maybe some descriptive text. Although the messages are hard to understand, there are often solutions. Try these links if you get these errors.

Not every error is listed here. If there's a Learn More link on the error message, select that. If there's no link, let us know what error you got and where you were in the install process when you received it. Leave us a comment at the bottom of this page to let us know more about your issue.

Activation or unlicensed product issues

If you have a Microsoft 365 plan, to keep it active, you have to sign in at least once every 30 days. If your subscription hasn't expired, Office will reactivate the subscription the next time you log in.

Troubleshoot activation failures

As a Microsoft 365 for business user, you can download Support and Recovery Assistant for Microsoft 365 to help you fix activation issues.

If that tool doesn’t resolve your issue or you recently switched plans and now get an unlicensed product error or can't use your Office applications, see Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office.

If activation failures began after you upgraded to Windows 10, see Office error code 0x8004FC12 when activating Office.

Deactivate an install

You can activate Office on up to five computers. If you've used up your five installs and want to install Office on another computer, you have to deactivate an installation. Deactivation doesn't remove Office from the computer, but you can't use Office on that computer until you activate it.

If you're a Microsoft 365 user, do the following to deactivate an installation.

  1. Go to https://portal.office.com/Account/#home. If prompted, sign in with your work or school account.

  2. From the Install status tile, select Manage installs.

  3. Under Install status, select Deactivate to deactivate the Office installations you no longer use.

For more information, see Deactivate a Microsoft 365 for business install.

Upgrade or update issues

Upgrade Office

If you're on a Microsoft 365 subscription, you're on the latest version of Office and don't need to upgrade to Office 2019.

If you're an admin who needs to upgrade your users to the latest Office client, see Upgrade your users to the latest Office client using Microsoft 365 for business

Reinstall an older version of Office

After February 28, 2017 you won't be able to install Office 2013 from https://portal.office.com/OLS/MySoftware. For more information see Office 2013 will no longer be available for installation with a Microsoft 365 subscription.

If you connect to an Exchange 2007 mailbox (which reached End of Life on April 11, 2017), you might want to stay on Office 2013 until you upgrade from Exchange 2007. See the following:

Issues after installing Office

You can't find the Office applications after installing Office

See Can't find Office applications in Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7?

You recently switched Microsoft 365 plans and now get messages you can't use Office

When you install Office it's automatically linked to your Microsoft 365 plan. This means if you or the users in your organization see Account Notice or Unlicensed product errors in Office, they need to install the version of Office that comes with the new Microsoft 365 plan, and then uninstall the version that came with the previous plan. Use this easy fix tool to uninstall Office and then follow the steps to reinstall Office.

  1. Click this easy fix button to uninstall Office.

    Download

  2. For the remaining steps showing how to save and use the easy fix, follow the steps for your browser:

    Edge or Internet Explorer

    1. At the bottom of the browser window, select Open to open the O15CTRRemove.diagcab file.

      Select Open to open the O15CTRRemove.diagcab easy fix tool

      If the file doesn’t open automatically, choose Save > Open Folder, and then double-click the file (it should start with "O15CTRRemove") to run the easy fix tool.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

    Chrome

    1. In the lower-lower left corner select the o15CTRRemove file and from the drop down, select Show in folder.

      From the dropdown, select Show in folder

      Double-click the download, o15CTRRemove to run the easy fix tool.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

    Firefox

    1. Select Save File, and then OK.

      Save O15CTRRemove.diagcab file in Firefox

      In the upper-right browser window, select Show all downloads. In the Library, select Downloads > O15CTRRemove.diagcab, and then select the folder icon. Double-click the O15CTRRemove.diagcab.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

Install Office

To reinstall Office select the version you want to install and follow those steps.

Microsoft 365
Office 2021
Office 2019
Office 2016
Office 2013

Office "stopped working" message appears when you start an application

If you connect to an Exchange 2007 mailbox (which reached End of Life on April 11, 2017), you might want to stay on Office 2013 until you upgrade from Exchange 2007. See the following:

You don't know what Microsoft 365 product or license you have

  1. If you're not already signed in, go to http://portal.office.com and sign in with your work or school account.

    Note: If you're unable to sign in with your work or school account, you may be signing in to the wrong Microsoft 365 service, see Where to sign in to Microsoft 365.

  2. From the browser header, go to Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud > My app settings > Microsoft 365.

    Office 365 Settings pane
  3. On the My account page, select Subscriptions.

    Office 365 Subscriptions page

    You’ll see the services that you're licensed to use, such as the latest desktop version of Office, SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business, and Exchange Online. If you don't see The latest desktop version of Office in the list, your admin probably hasn't assigned an Office license to you. If you're an admin, see Assign licenses to users in Microsoft 365 for business. For more information, see What Microsoft 365 business product or license do I have?

Mac install and activation issues

Where to install Office

If you're looking for steps describing how to install Office on a Mac, see Install Office on your PC or Mac.

Microsoft_Office_2016_Installer.pkg won't open or Office install is stuck at Verifying

If you see an error that says the Microsoft_Office_2016_Installer.pkg can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer, wait 10 seconds and then try double-clicking the installer package again. If you're stuck at the Verifying…. progress bar, close or cancel the progress bar and try again.

Uninstall Office for Mac

Select the version of Office you want to uninstall.

Uninstall Office for Mac

Activate Office on Mac

See Activate Office for Mac

Mac activation errors

Troubleshoot issues for Microsoft 365 admins

The following issues apply only if you're a Microsoft 365 for business administrator.

I'm an admin and don't have an option to install Office, Project, or Visio

When you first sign up for Microsoft 365 for business and you try to install Office (or Project or Visio if you've also signed up for a plan that includes those applications) you might see a message that says you can't install Office because you don't have a license. This could happen because of a delay between your initial sign in and Microsoft 365 for business setting up your environment. Try signing out of Microsoft 365 and then signing back in.

It could also happen because you haven't assigned a license to yourself or your users. Do the following to check your licenses.

Check that you have a license

  1. If you're not already signed in, go to http://portal.office.com and sign in with your work or school account.

    Note: If you're unable to sign in with your work or school account, you may be signing in to the wrong Microsoft 365 service, see Where to sign in to Microsoft 365.

  2. From the browser header, go to Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud > My app settings > Microsoft 365.

    Office 365 Settings pane
  3. On the My account page, select Subscriptions.

    Office 365 Subscriptions page

    You’ll see the services that you're licensed to use, such as the latest desktop version of Office, Project, Visio, SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business, and Exchange Online. If you don't see The latest desktop version of Office in the list (or Project or Visio if you bought plans with those applications), see Assign licenses to users in Microsoft 365 for business.

    If you have a license, then you're ready to Install Office on your PC or Mac, (or install Project or Visio).

Not all Microsoft 365 plans come with Office. If your organization has a Microsoft 365 plan that doesn't include the latest desktop version of Office, as the admin, you can switch to a different Microsoft 365 plan or subscription.

If you're not sure what plan you have, follow the steps in What Microsoft 365 for business subscription do I have? For a comparison of plans, see the small business plans comparison or enterprise plans comparison.

I have a volume license for Project or Visio and I get an error when trying to install the click-to-run version of Office

If you have a volume license for Project 2016 and/or Visio 2016 and you’re trying in install the click-to-run version of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, you can use the Office Deployment Tool to download and install the click-to-run perpetual (stand-alone) versions of Project 2016 and/or Visio 2016. See https://support.microsoft.com/help/3157564.

How do I install the latest version of Office on more than five computers?

You can activate Office on up to five computers. If you want to install on a sixth computer, you have to deactivate an installation. Deactivation doesn't remove Office from the computer, but you can't use Office on that computer until you activate it. See Deactivate a Microsoft 365 for business install.

How do I get the rest of my organization set up with Microsoft 365 for business?

To help you set up your organization, see Set up Microsoft 365 for business – Admin Help.

How do I manage licenses for people in my organization?

Users need licenses to use Outlook, SharePoint Online, Lync Online, and other services. As the Microsoft 365 for business admin, you can assign licenses to new users when creating new accounts, or add licenses to existing users. See Assign licenses to users in Microsoft 365 for business.

If you need to add more licenses to your subscription, see Buy licenses for your Microsoft 365 for business subscription.

How do I deploy Office to multiple computers in my organization?

If you’re an IT Pro and you want to deploy Office in your organization, use the Office Deployment Tool to download the Office software to your local network. You then deploy Office by using the software deployment method you typically use.

You can also choose to have users sign into the Microsoft 365 portal with their work or school account and follow the steps in Install Office on your PC or Mac to install Office themselves.

You recently switched Microsoft 365 plans and now get messages you can't use Office

When you install Office it's automatically linked to your Microsoft 365 plan. This means if you recently switched plans you'll need to uninstall and then reinstall Office to associate it with your updated subscription. Use this easy fix tool and then follow the steps to reinstall Office.

  1. Click this easy fix button to uninstall Office.

    Download

  2. For the remaining steps showing how to save and use the easy fix, follow the steps for your browser:

    Edge or Internet Explorer

    1. At the bottom of the browser window, select Open to open the O15CTRRemove.diagcab file.

      Select Open to open the O15CTRRemove.diagcab easy fix tool

      If the file doesn’t open automatically, choose Save > Open Folder, and then double-click the file (it should start with "O15CTRRemove") to run the easy fix tool.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

    Chrome

    1. In the lower-lower left corner select the o15CTRRemove file and from the drop down, select Show in folder.

      From the dropdown, select Show in folder

      Double-click the download, o15CTRRemove to run the easy fix tool.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

    Firefox

    1. Select Save File, and then OK.

      Save O15CTRRemove.diagcab file in Firefox

      In the upper-right browser window, select Show all downloads. In the Library, select Downloads > O15CTRRemove.diagcab, and then select the folder icon. Double-click the O15CTRRemove.diagcab.

    2. The Uninstall Microsoft Office wizard launches. Select Next and follow the prompts.

    3. When you see the Uninstallation successful screen, follow the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Next.

    4. Restart your computer and then try installing Office again.

Install Office

To reinstall Office select the version you want to install and follow those steps.

Microsoft 365
Office 2021
Office 2019
Office 2016
Office 2013

Still need help? Contact support

As an admin for Microsoft 365 for business, you get free access to our knowledgeable support agents for pre-sales, account, and billing support, as well as for help resolving technical issues. You can also contact support on behalf of Microsoft 365 users in your organization.

Get help from the Office 365 community forumsAdmins: Sign in and create a service requestAdmins: Call Support

Leave us a comment

We value your feedback. Please let us know if you found any of these solutions helpful by leaving us a comment below. If you couldn't fix your problem, tell us more about your issue, including any error messages your received and where you were in the install process when you received it. We'll use that information to help investigate your issue and update this or other articles with additional solutions.

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