How to reinstall Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 on a new iMac after my original iMac has crashed?

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Hello William Wilson!

I understand you’re trying to reinstall Office Home & Student 2019 on a replacement iMac after your original device crashed, but the installation/activation isn’t going through, likely due to the license still being associated with the old Mac.

Office Home & Student 2019 is a one‑time purchase license for 1 Mac/PC at a time. Normally, when you move it to another computer, you’d uninstall it from the old device as part of the transfer terms.

Note: Also, please note that Office 2019 on Mac, version 16.78 is the last build that supports this license, so newer Mac versions may not proceed properly.

In your situation, the old iMac has crashed, so you’re unable to uninstall Office from it. If you’re seeing messages like “maximum activations” or “installation limit reached,” the best next step is to contact Microsoft Support so they can review your specific setup and guide you on the appropriate next steps, such as clearing or resetting the previous activation if possible.

Since this is a user‑to‑user community, we can only share suggestions based on our own experiences and what has worked in similar situations, we’re unable to make any changes from here.

Here's how to reach out to Support Team (live chat):

Go to: https://support.microsoft.com/home/contact

1. In the search box, enter a short description of your issue, for example: Office 2019 reinstall issue after old Mac crashed
2. Hit "Get Help"
3. Scroll down and select Sign in to contact support for further assistance (please sign in using a personal Microsoft account). Then follow the on-screen prompts to reach Support Team.

Tip: Support Team availability can vary, and retrying at a different time often helps.

Hopefully your issue will soon be sorted out. Thank you so much for your patience!

Follow these steps on the new iMac:

1. Make sure the Office 2019 license is associated with a Microsoft account:
   • On any device with a browser, go to https://account.microsoft.com/services.
   • Sign in with the same Microsoft account that was used to activate Office Home & Student 2019 on the crashed iMac.
   • Under Services & subscriptions, confirm that Office Home & Student 2019 appears.
2. Install Office 2019 on the new iMac:
   • From the Services & subscriptions page, locate Office Home & Student 2019 and select Install.
   • This downloads the Office installer for Mac.
   • On the new iMac, open Finder > Downloads and double‑click the downloaded installer package.
   • In the installer:
     1. Select Continue on the first screen.
     2. Review the license agreement and select Continue, then Agree.
     3. Choose how to install Office and select Continue.
     4. Review disk space or change the install location, then select Install.
     5. Enter the Mac login password if prompted, then select Install Software.
     6. When installation finishes, select Close. If prompted to update, select Update and follow the prompts.
3. Activate Office on the new iMac:
   • Open any Office app (for example, Word).
   • When prompted, sign in with the same Microsoft account used in step 1.
   • Office will activate using the existing Home & Student 2019 license.
4. If an activation limit message appears:
   • For one‑time purchases like Office Home & Student 2019, the license can be moved to another computer if the original device has failed.
   • Follow the activation prompts to activate by telephone if offered, and confirm that the license is being moved to the new iMac.
   • After activation, the old (crashed) iMac is considered deactivated for that license.

No manual uninstall is required on the crashed iMac; the transfer is handled through activation and the Microsoft account.

References:

• Download and install or reinstall Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016
• Learn more about product keys, Workplace Discount Program, and volume licenses
• Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device
• How to reinstall Office & Student 2019 - Microsoft Q&A