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Office 2021 license does not work and ist not anymore in the portal listed

B. Jost 0 Reputation points
2025-11-18T08:39:37.6166667+00:00

Dear,

The Office 2021 license installed on my Mac book April 2022 ist not working anymore. Connection failure of license server.

After checking the online portal it turned out, that the Office 2021 of my Mac book is not any longer listed there.

A try to add the already in April 2022 used license of my office 2021 ended by the expected message that the license code has already been used.

I ask you for support how to get back my license for my Mac book.

Kind regards

<PII removed>

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For business | MacOS
Answer recommended by moderator
  1. Flora-T 7,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-19T12:32:56.2333333+00:00

    Hi B. Jost

    Thank you for the update and the screenshots.

    Based on community experience, this error may indicate that the background service required to verify your permanent license is either corrupted or being blocked by macOS.

    In similar cases, other users have confirmed that the following steps resolved this error. Since you have already run the license removal tool, please proceed with these recommendations:

    1. Check macOS Background Permissions

    Open System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions.

    Look under "Allow in the Background", ensure that "Microsoft Corporation" and "Microsoft Office Licensing" are turned ON.

    Note: If this was off, turn it on, restart your Mac, and try Word again.

    1. Uninstall the current applications

    Open Finder > Applications.

    Hold Command + click to select all of the Microsoft Office for Mac applications.

    Hold Ctrl + click the selected applications and click Move to Trash > Empty your Trash.

    1. Reinstall from your account

    Sign in to the Microsoft account dashboard with the Microsoft account you associated with this version of Office.

    From the Overview page, find the Office product you want to install and select Install.

    2 people found this answer helpful.

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  1. B. Jost 0 Reputation points
    2025-11-18T12:45:37.4933333+00:00

    The first I recognized yesterday that I cannot edit word files anymore. The headline of word shows the follwing. (I have not installed office new or changed to Microsoft 365, I am fully aware about the difference of Office 2021 and 365. I have purchased Office 2021 as permanent license in 5th April 2022, installed the software same day and it worked by automatically update until yesterday)

    Bildschirmfoto 2025-11-18 um 13.36.27

    Even if I am aware about the difference of 365, I hoped to get it solved by logging in with my account. But this failed with the following message:

    Bildschirmfoto 2025-11-18 um 13.35.20

    The I logged in by my browser into my account and saw that the OSX Office is not any longer listed.

    So I read in the internet and it was recommended to delete the license by using the microsoft software "Microsoft_Office_License_Removal_2.7.pkg" this happened and a re-use of the license code failed by telling me that the code has been aktivated already April 2022.

    After this I decided to start this request for support.

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  2. Flora-T 7,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-18T09:39:37.28+00:00

    Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

    Hi B. Jost

    Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and sharing the detailed description. I understand how frustrating it is when Office 2021 for Mac suddenly shows a “connection failure of license server” and the license does not appear in the portal.

    For clarity, Office 2021 for Mac retail is a one‑time purchase that is redeemed once and permanently tied to the Microsoft account used at redemption. It does not require a continuous connection to a licensing server to remain active, and it typically will not appear in your account in the same way a Microsoft 365 subscription does.

    To better understand, could you please confirm:

    • Was your Office 2021 obtained as a retail purchase redeemed to your personal Microsoft account?
    • What is the exact error message you see? (If possible, share the full text or a screenshot).

    In the meantime, you may try the following sequence:

    Sign out of any expired/inactive account in all Office apps, then quit and reopen any Office app > sign in with the Microsoft account you used when you purchased/redeemed Office 2021 in April 2022.

    If the product doesn’t show correctly, macOS may be holding stale/conflicting license data. Run Microsoft’s License Removal Tool for Mac > restart, then open Word and sign in again with the exact owning account.

    If needed, uninstall and reinstall Office, then sign in to activate:

    If I have misunderstood your situation, please don't hesitate to clarify, and I will adjust my recommendations accordingly. I'm looking forward to seeing your response soon. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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