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A red or yellow band across the top of Word saying Unlicensed Product or Product Deactivated looks like the key failed. Usually it did not. In most cases the key is fine and Office simply has not been told about it, or is looking at a different license.
The usual cause: the key is not in this installation
Office 2024 Professional Plus is activated by entering the key inside Office itself. If Office was reinstalled, or installed on a new computer, it starts out without a key.
- Open Word, then File and Account.
- Select Change Product Key.
- Enter the 25-character key from your delivery email.
- Close every Office program and reopen Word.
A second cause: another Office on the same computer
If a Microsoft 365 trial or an older Office is still installed next to Office 2024, Word can end up checking the wrong license. Remove every other Office from Settings > Apps > Installed apps, restart, and then enter the key again as above. If Word is signed in to a Microsoft account that carries a Microsoft 365 subscription or trial, sign out under File > Account as well.
If neither of those is it
- Let it check in. Office revalidates its license periodically and needs internet to do it. A machine that has been offline for a long stretch can show this banner until it reconnects.
- Check the date. A clock that is wrong by more than a few days breaks the secure connection to Microsoft, exactly as it does for Windows activation.
- Run the repair. Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft Office > Modify > Online Repair. It keeps your files and reinstalls the program.
Still showing it?
Send us your order number and a photo of File > Account with the banner visible. That screen tells us in seconds which of the causes above it is. Our chat answers at any hour and our team is on hand 24/7 for anything it cannot solve.
