How To Transfer Microsoft Office To New Computer

Are you planning on upgrading your computer? This will usually mean improved hardware performance which usually leads to increased productivity on your end. There are several things to consider when getting a hardware upgrade  and one of these is how to transfer Microsoft Office to new computer. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will show you how this is done. 

How To Transfer Microsoft Office To New Computer

There are several prerequisites needed in order for you to be able to successfully transfer the Microsoft Office application.

  • You should have the 25 character Product key that was given to you when you purchased the license.
  • The license type has to be transferable. This means that it should be a  “retail” or “FPP” license.
  • The installation file for Office that matches your Product key.

In case you have an Office 365 then you can easily move this to the new computer since this is linked to your Microsoft account and not to the hardware.

Determine what license type you have

The first thing you will want to do is to check what type of license you have for your Microsoft Office software.

  • FPP (Full Product Pack) – Most popular license type, usually sold in a plastic yellow box. Can also be bought online.
  • HUP (Home Use Program) – Another variation of the FPP type, it’s usually cheaper but hard to get.
  • OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) – This license type is installed by default on some computers. It’s not available on CD physical media.
  • PKC (Product Key Card) – PKCs are usually sold online or in stores in a card-like format (can’t be brought on CD).
  • POSA (Point of Sale Activation) – These are usually obtained from online stores and a few other retail stores. They include a product key but no installation media.
  • ACADEMIC – Previously sold for secondary education students. The program has since been discontinued.
  • ESD (Electronic Software Download) – Exclusive electronic software that is only obtained from online stores and retail shops. They include a product key but no installation media.
  • NFR (Not For Resale) – These licenses are usually given away for promotional reasons (as prizes, participation rewards, etc.)

Only the FPP, HUP, PKC, POSA, and ESD licenses can be moved to another computer.

To check your license

  • Type  “cmd” on the search bar next to the Start button  then right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator.
  • Go to the location of the Office installation folder.
  • Type the following command into the elevated Command Prompt and hit Enter: cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
  • It will take a while until you get to see the results. Then, check the License Name and License Description. If they contain the word “Retail” or “FPP“, then are eligible to move it.

Check the number of installations allowed

Once you have made sure that your software licence is eligible to be transferred to another computer then the next step is to determine how many installations can be done. Microsoft Office 365 for example can be installed on 5 devices.

Transfer Microsoft Office license to another computer

  • Uninstall the Office installation from your current computer. Keep in mind that you need to uninstall it completely (via Programs and Features) – Deleting only the installation folder will not free up the activation count.
  • On your new computer and make sure it doesn’t have a limited free trial copy of Office installed. If it has one, uninstall it before migrating your Office license.
  • Install the Office suite associated with your license via CD or other installation media.
  • Once the installation is complete, open any program from the Office suite. Then, go to File > Account, click Activate Product (Change Product Key) and insert the same product key.

Transfer Office 365 license to another computer

  • Log in to Microsoft Office and access the MyAccount page. When asked to do so, provide the login information and click the Sign In button.
  • You should see a list of all your Microsoft related products. Look for an Install section and click the Install button associated with it.
  • Under Install Information, click the Deactivate Install button.
  • You will be asked to confirm. When asked to do so, click Deactivate again and wait for it to register.
  • Once the license is deactivated, go to Programs and Features (Press Windows key + R, then type “appwiz.cpl“) and uninstall the Office installation associated with the license. Keep in mind that this step assumes that you’re still on the old computer that previously used the Office license.
  • Go to the new computer that you want to transfer the license to. Go through the same process in Step 1 and Step 2. Once you return to the Install Information section in My account, click the Install button.
  • After a few seconds, you should see that a setup.exe file is downloading. Wait for it to complete and double-click the executable, then go through with the on-screen prompts to install Office on your new computer.
  • When the setup is almost installed, you will be prompted to sign in with your Microsoft account. Once you do that, you only have to wait for a couple of seconds until the suite downloads some additional files in the background.

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