Can Microsoft Office be installed twice?

I somehow have two copies of every Office application installed, I have word version 2009 that I can find info online and was released in Sept - Version 2009 (Build 13231.20390), and I also have version 16.0.13416.41000 installed which I can't find anything on. New one looks pretty cool

Now I am in the future (Australia) and often encounter things before others so that could explain it.

If I look in Apps listing I only have one install of Microsoft 365 so I don't know whats going on. New is more integrated with onedrive, if I open any file I have online it opens it in a browser with a Office toolbar. I don't like that really.

I updated to WIn 10 20H2 today so i can't tell you when the install happened, it may have been a few days ago or today, I really can't tell. Version updates wipe windows memory of what happened the day before.

the help in the new versions appears to talk about office online which were the browser based versions of office, its possible they have merged that into the actual version of word as if I click create new document it opens word.. though a new version of word.

2009 listed as current version here - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-microsoft365-apps-by-date

 

Microsoft’s Product Activation is the source of a lot of questions to Office Watch and clearly it’s not well understood. Microsoft has little interest in making the rules clearer, partly for their security reasons and partly because they know the ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’ can lead to people buying extra copies of Office that they don’t really need.

A standard MS Office retail licence allows for TWO installed copies of Office at any one time – one on a desktop computer and another on a portable device for use by one person.  


There are different rules for corporate licences as well as the Office 2007 ‘Home and Student Edition’ and ‘Military Appreciation Edition’ that we’ve written about on the Office-Watch.com web site – What’s so special about the Home and Student edition and Military Appreciation Edition price cut.

Office ‘activation’ is the post-installation process where the software checks with Microsoft to make sure you’re allowed to use the unique Product Key you entered.  Activation matches the product key to the machine it’s installed upon and is usually done via the Internet but can also happen by phone.

That ‘two installations’ rule leads people to believe they can only install and activate Office twice – after that they have to buy another copy of Office.  Definitely NOT true.

Product Activation is a lot more flexible than a quick look at the rules might suggest.  Microsoft knows that people switch hardware and move their software for a variety of reasons.  A new computer might not work properly and, at worst, is entirely replaced. You might lose a computer and buy a replacement. These are all valid reasons to move your licensed copy of Office to a new computer.  If you upgrade the components on a computer, it might be sufficient to require re-activation even though you haven’t touched Office itself.

Install Office on a replacement computer and, when you are ready, do the product activation.  The worst that can happen is that you’re prompted to call Microsoft for confirmation.  We’ve done this many times and it’s never been a problem.  We explain the situation (upgrading computer etc) and an activation code is given in a few minutes.  Have a pen/paper ready or enter the activation code directly as it’s read to you.

We’ve heard of cases when activation is refused but usually that’s when the product code has been used many times over a relatively short period.  That can be people abusing their licence or perhaps the product key has been stolen and used by others without your knowledge. See our series “What happens if your Product Key is stolen?“

The ‘two activations’ also depend somewhat on the time between activations.  If you try for a third or fourth activation soon after the first requests then you might be asked to explain.  However if the later activations are many months or years later they are more likely to be approved automatically.

The Product Key that comes with a copy of Office should be stored safely – without it you’ll have to buy another copy of Office. The CD/DVD is less important because you could borrow/copy a friend’s disk to reinstall using your unique Product Key.

It’s also a good idea to keep a record of your installation/activation of Microsoft Office. If you need to call Microsoft for activation it can be useful, in case of difficulty, to know which computer you activated on and when plus any time you uninstalled Office. 

See Also

  • Why no upgrade price for Office 2010?
  • Office 2010 pricing announced
  • If you’ve lost your Office install disks
  • How many copies of Office can you install?
  • Everyone is moving to Office 2007 except me!
  • Should you activate Office immediately?
  • Even cheaper ‘Military’ Office
  • What’s so special about the Home and Student edition?
  • What happens if your product key is stolen?

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Can you install Office twice?

Yes, you are able to install Microsoft Office on more than one computer. Your product key (which comes to you in an email) can normally be used about 3 times. So if you download your Microsoft Office Suite onto 2 computers, you will have one more download "just in case" one of your computers crashes.

How many times can I install Microsoft Office?

With Microsoft 365, you can install Office on all your devices and sign in to Office on five devices at the same time.

Do you have to buy Microsoft Office more than once?

Office 2021 is sold as a one-time purchase, which means you pay a single, up-front cost to get Microsoft 365 apps for one computer. One-time purchases are available for both PCs and Macs.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

After you restart your computer, the uninstall tool automatically re-opens to complete the final step of the uninstall process. Follow the remaining prompts. If you want to reinstall Microsoft 365, select the steps for the version you want and follow those steps. Close the uninstall tool.