Office 2016 Mac Bypass Activation

Tracy King updated onDec 18, 2020 to PC Transfer|How-to Articles

This is common if you're using earlier versions of Office (2016 and earlier), Office Home & Business, Home & Student, or Professional. If you have a subscription for Microsoft 365, see Using a Microsoft 365 Subscription on a PC or Mac. As of the release of Office 2016, your product key is tied to your Microsoft account. Activate MS Office 2019/2016 for macOS - MicrosoftOffice2019VLSerializer Office 2019 above. Note that Office2019 DO NOT support activate via simple copy/paste plist license file which is the simplest way to activate Office 2016. Fortunately, you can also use the VL Serializer tool, just install Office 2019 and Serializer, then run Serializer to activate. Some new computers arrived and with them keys for office 2016. The rest of us are using older office at the moment. Now the problem with office 2016 in particular is that it requires me to sign in to an MS account if I want to activate the product. Googling has revealed that it is now mandatory to tie the licence key to a Microsoft account.

Can I transfer and move the Office 2016 to a new computer without re-installation?

Office 2016 Mac Bypass Activation

'Now I’ve moved almost all useful files to my new computer. But the applications and programs such as Microsoft Office 2016, PhotoShop, etc. cannot work even I've copied the installation files of those programs to the new computer. So is it possible that I can transfer and move the Office 2016 to my new PC? How?'

Want to transfer installed programs to a new PC without reinstallation? Here we'll show you 2 fixes about how to transfer Office 2016 to a new computer. To getting a time-saving and highly effective solution, we highly recommend EaseUS Todo PCTrans, rather than follow the manual steps.

Workable SolutionsStep-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1.(Secure Software) Transfer Office 2016 to a new computer without reinstallationDeactivate license > Run EaseUS Todo PCTrans > Choose 'PC to PC' > Start Office 2016 transfer...Full steps
Fix 2. (Manual Way) Move Office 2016 to a new computerUninstall Office 2016 on the old PC > In the new PC, reinstall...Full steps

Before starting the transferring process, please figure out you can transfer Office 2016 to another computer.

Can I transfer Office 2016 license to another PC?

You can check the license terms issued by Microsoft: You may also transfer the software to a device owned by someone else if (i) you are the first licensed user of the software and (ii) the new user agrees to the terms of this agreement.

However, Office 2016 has the OEM license, which can not be transferred to a new computer. So you need to deactivate the Office license on the existing PC, then move Office 2016 to a new computer, and activate it on a new PC by a unique 25 characters product key.

Time to experience the method below!

Transfer Office 2016 to a new computer without reinstallation using EaseUS Todo PCTrans

As a robust PC Transfer software, EaseUS Todo PCTrans allows you to directly transfer microsoft office to new computer on Windows 10/8/7 with simple clicks.

Before you start transferring Office program to a new computer, we highly recommend you to prepare both the new and old computers for the transferring with the below guidelines:

1. Find and keep your Office 2016 account or activation key.
2. Download and install EaseUS Todo PCTrans for help

Phrase 1- Deactivate Office 2016 license on the old PC

Step 1. Log in to Microsoft Office, move to the My Account page.

Step 2. Your Office 2016 will show on this page. Head to the Install option and choose Deactivate Install. (Set Office 365 as an example)

Step 3. Confirm your deactivation.

Phrase 2 - Transfer Office 2016 to a new computer with user account

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans and select the transfer mode.

  • Download and install EaseUS Todo PCTrans on both of your computers.
  • Launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans on the PCs and choose 'PC to PC' on one of the computers.

Step 2. Connect the source PC and the target PC.

  • Choose one method to connect the current PC to the target PC: enter the target computer's account password or its verification code. You can click and check the verification code on the right top of the 'PC to PC' mainscreen on the target computer.
  • Choose the transfer direction and click 'Connect'.

Step 3. Select Office to transfer.

  • Hover on 'Applications' and choose 'Edit'.
  • In the list, Choose Microsoft Office and click 'Finish'.

Step 4. Transfer Microsoft Office to another PC.

  • Click 'Transfer' to start transferring Microsoft Office to another PC.
  • Wait for the transfer process to finish and then click 'OK'.

Step 5. Save the product key to activate Microsoft Office.

Office 2016 Mac Bypass Activation
  • Back to the interface to click 'Product Key'.
  • In the list, click 'Copy' to save the activation key.
Tip
The product key function now supports export activation keys of Office 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2016(msi version). If you can not find your 25 characters by EaseUS Todo PCTrans, you can read how to find Microsoft Office product key and get the detailed methods.

Manually move Office 2016 to new computer

Office 2016 has the OEM license which can not be transferred to another computer. So you need to deactivate and uninstall Office 2016 license in the existing pc and then install and activate it in the new one.

Step 1: Uninstall Office 2016 on the old computer.

1. Click Microsoft Office website > My Account > choose Sign In

2. Go to Install section > Choose Install button > Select Deactivate Install

3. Uninstall the Microsoft Office 2016 in the old computer.

Step 2: Re-install Office 2016 on the new computer.

1. My Account page > Sign in > Choose Install to download the Office 2016 setup.exe file

2. Run the setup file > Click Next > Sign in to verify your Microsoft Office account > complete Install

Activation steps for Office 2016:

1. Sign in to Office.(Make sure to sign in with the Microsoft account.)

2. Remember your product key.

After visiting Microsoft Account website and Log in your Office account. You can click 'View product key'. In addition to this method, you can also check your digital receipt in the mailbox.

3. Activation.

Run Office 2016 application > click 'Activate'

After this, you can continue using your Office application to edit Excel, Word, etc. document on your new PC again.

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Applies to:Volume licensed versions of Office 2019 and Office 2016, including Project and Visio

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs), the Software License Manager script (slmgr.vbs), and the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) can help you configure and test volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio. Before you read this article, we recommend that you read Overview of volume activation of Office, Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using MAK, and Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active Directory.

The ospp.vbs script

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs) enables you to configure volume licensed versions of Office products, including Project and Visio. The ospp.vbs script is located in the Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice16 folder. If you installed the 32-bit version of Office on a 64-bit operating system, go to the Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice16 folder.

Running ospp.vbs requires the cscript.exe script engine. To see the Help file, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

cscript ospp.vbs /?

The general syntax is as follows:

cscript ospp.vbs [Option:Value] [ComputerName] [User] [Password]

Option Specifies the option and value to use to activate a product, install or uninstall a product key, install and display license information, set KMS host name and port, and remove KMS host name and port. The options and values are listed in the tables in this section.

ComputerName Name of the remote computer. If a computer name is not provided, the local computer is used.

User Account that has the required permission on the remote computer.

Password Password for the account. If a user account and password are not provided, the current credentials are used.

Office 2016 Mac Release Date

Important

Before you run the ospp.vbs, ensure that:

  • If you want to run the script on a remote computer, the Windows firewall allows Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) traffic on the remote computer.
  • The user account you will use is a member of the Administrators group on the computer on which you run the script.
  • You run ospp.vbs script from an elevated command prompt.

Global options for ospp.vbs

Global optionDescription
/act
Activates installed Office product keys.
/inpkey:value
Installs a product key (replaces existing key) with a user-provided product key. Value option is required.
/unpkey:value
Uninstalls an installed product key with the last five digits of the product key to uninstall (as displayed by the /dstatus option). Value parameter is required.
/inslic:value
Installs a license with user-provided path of the .xrm-ms license. Value parameter is required.
/dstatus
Displays license information for installed product keys.
/dstatusall
Displays license information for all installed licenses.
/dhistoryacterr
Displays the failure history for MAK/retail activation.
/dinstid
Displays Installation ID for offline activation.
/actcid:value
Activates product with user-provided Confirmation ID. Value parameter is required.
/rearm
Resets the licensing status for all installed Office product keys.
/rearm:value
Resets the licensing status for an Office license with a user-provided SKUID value. Value parameter is required.
Use this option with the SKUID value specified by using the /dstatus option if you have run out of rearms and have activated Office through KMS or Active Directory-based activation to gain an additional rearm.
/ddescr:value
Displays the description for a user-provided error code. Value parameter is required.

The following table describes the ospp.vbs options for configuring the KMS client.

KMS client options for ospp.vbs

KMS client optionDescription
/dhistorykms
Displays KMS client activation history.
/dcmid
Displays KMS client computer ID (CMID).
/sethst:value
Sets a KMS host name with a user-provided host name. Value parameter is required.
This sets HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftOfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatformKeyManagementServiceName (REG_SZ).
/setprt:value
Sets a KMS port with a user-provided port number. The default port number is 1688. Value parameter is required.
This sets HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftOfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatformKeyManagementServicePort (REG_SZ).
/remhst
Removes KMS host name and sets port to default. The default port is 1688.
/cachst:value
Allows or denies KMS host caching. Value parameter is required (TRUE or FALSE).
/actype:value
(Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets volume activation type. Value parameter is required.
Values: 1 (for Active Directory-based), 2 (for KMS), 0 (for both).
/skms-domain:value
(Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records can be found. This setting has no effect if the specific single KMS host name is set by the /sethst option. Value parameter is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) and is required.
/ckms-domain
(Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Clears the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records can be found. The specific KMS host is used if it is set by the /sethst option. Otherwise, auto-discovery of the KMS host is used.

Scenarios that use ospp.vbs

The following scenarios assume that you are running ospp.vbs in an elevated command prompt.

Note

Any changes that you make affect only the Office client products. You have to configure the Windows client separately by using the slmgr.vbs script described in The slmgr.vbs script later in this article.

To change the product key to a MAK key on a remote computer

  1. If the remote computer is named contoso1, run the following command to enter the product key. This assumes that you have administrator credentials on the remote computer. If your credentials on the remote computer differ from your logon name and password, you must type your logon name and password at the command line, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx contoso1

  2. To activate the remote computer, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /act contoso1

To diagnose KMS activation errors

  1. If the computer has the KMS client key installed, check the licensing status. To do this, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /dstatusall

  2. To check the KMS activation history, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms

  3. To trigger activation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /act

  4. Check the error message for error code 0xC004F042. If in the notification dialog boxes you see an error code that is shown to users, you can also use that code to check the error message. To do this, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /ddescr:0xC004F042

To turn on or off KMS host caching on the KMS client

  1. On the KMS client computer, to turn caching on, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:TRUE

  2. On the KMS client computer, to turn caching off, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:FALSE

To test KMS host name, and then set to auto-discovery

  1. If you are testing a KMS host named kmstest.contoso.com, and you want to specify it in the KMS client, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:kmstest.contoso.com

    Note

    If you change the default port on the KMS host computer, you must run ospp.vbs with the /setprt option. > For example: cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1750

  2. To trigger activation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /act

  3. To check the KMS activation history to see whether the host was successfully contacted, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms

  4. Now you want this KMS client to use Domain Name System (DNS) for auto-discovery of the production KMS host. To remove the KMS host name, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /remhst

The slmgr.vbs script

The Software License Manager (slmgr.vbs) script is used to configure and retrieve volume activation information for the Office KMS host and the Windows host. For more information, see Configuring KMS Hosts for Windows.

You can run the script locally on the target computer or remotely from another computer. You have to be an administrator to use the script. If a standard user runs slmgr.vbs, some license data might be missing or incorrect, and many operations are prohibited.

The slmgr.vbs script can use the Windows-based script host, wscript.exe, or the command-based script host, cscript.exe, and administrators can specify which script engine to use. If no script engine is specified, slmgr.vbs runs by using the default script engine, wscript.exe. We recommend the cscript.exe script engine.

Office 2016 Mac Bypass Activation Key

You must restart the Software Licensing Service for any changes to take effect. To restart the Software Licensing Service, use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Services snap-in or run the following command:

Office 2016 Product Activation Failed

net stop sppsvc && net start sppsvc

The slmgr.vbs script requires at least one parameter. If you run the script without any parameters, it displays Help information. The following table lists slmgr.vbs command-line options, and a description of each. Most of the parameters in the table configure the KMS host computer. However, the parameters /sai and /sri are passed to KMS clients after the KMS clients contact the KMS host computer. The general syntax of slmgr.vbs is as follows (assuming you are using the cscript.exe as the script engine):

cscript slmgr.vbs /parameter

cscript slmgr.vbs [ComputerName] [User] [Password] [Option]

ComputerName Name of the remote computer. If you do not provide a computer name, the local computer is used.

User Account with required permission on the remote computer.

Password Password for the account. If you do not provide a user account and password, current credentials are used.

Option Options are shown in the following table.

Office 2016 Mac Bypass Activation Download

Slmgr.vbs command options — standard

OptionDescription
/ ipk [ProductKey]
Installs the product key for Windows (default) or other application identified by the product key.
/ ato [ActivationID]
Activates the KMS host for Windows (default), or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. The Office 2019 Activation ID is 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C, and the Office 2016 Activation ID is 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7.
/ dti [ActivationID]
Displays the Installation ID that is used for telephone activation of the KMS host computer for Windows (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. The Office 2019 Activation ID is 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C, and the Office 2016 Activation ID is 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7. You enter the Installation ID into the telephone to receive the Confirmation ID, which is used for activating the KMS host computer by using the /atp parameter.
/ atp [ConfirmationID][ActivationID]
After the Confirmation ID is received, activates the KMS host for Windows (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. The Office 2019 Activation ID is 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C, and the Office 2016 Activation ID is 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7.
/ dlv [ActivationID]
Displays detailed license information for Windows (default), or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. The Office 2019 Activation ID is 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C, and the Office 2016 Activation ID is 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7.
For example, run the following command at the elevated command prompt, in the C:windowssystem32 folder to get the status of the Office KMS host:
cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
/ dli [ActivationID]
Displays license information for Windows (default), or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. The Office 2019 Activation ID is 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C, and the Office 2016 Activation ID is 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7.
/ upk [ActivationID]
Uninstalls the product key for Windows (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. The Office 2019 Activation ID is 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C, and the Office 2016 Activation ID is 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7.
CAUTION: If you intend to uninstall the product key for Office, for example, and forget to enter the Activation ID, all installed product keys are uninstalled. This includes the product key for Windows.
/ xpr [ActivationID]
Displays the expiration date for the current license state.
/ sprt [PortNumber]
Sets the TCP communications port on a KMS host computer. It replaces PortNumber with the TCP port number to use. The default setting is 1688.
/ cdns
Disables automatic DNS publishing by a KMS host computer.
/ sdns
Enables automatic DNS publishing by the KMS host computer.
/ cpri
Lowers the priority of KMS host computer processes.
/ sai [ActivationInterval]
Changes how often a KMS client attempts to activate itself when it cannot find a KMS host computer. It replaces ActivationInterval with a value expressed in minutes. The default setting is 120 minutes.
/ sri [RenewalInterval]
Changes how often a KMS client attempts to renew its activation by contacting a KMS host computer. It replaces RenewalInterval with a value expressed in minutes. The default setting is 10080 minutes (7 days). This setting overrides the local KMS client settings.

The following table shows the command options for activating an AD DS forest by using Active Directory-based activation.

Office

Slmgr.vbs command options — Active Directory-based activation

OptionDescription
/ ad-activation-online [ProductKey]
Activates an AD DS forest through the user-provided product key.
/ ad-activation-apply-get-iid [ProductKey]
Displays installation ID for AD DS forest.
/ ad-activation-apply-cid [ProductKey][ConfirmationID]
Activates an AD DS forest through the user-provided product key and the Confirmation ID.

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) provides a graphical user interface to manage volume activation. For more information about VAMT, see Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference.

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