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Cannot claim Office Home & Student 2021 included with device from Microsoft Store — Word shows “Unlicensed Product”

kumalala kumala savesta 0 Reputation points
2026-05-04T19:14:24.04+00:00

Issue

Hello,

I am experiencing an issue activating Microsoft Office that is included with my laptop. My device shows “Office Home & Student 2021 – included with this PC” in the Microsoft Store, but I am unable to claim or activate it. As a result, Microsoft Word displays “Unlicensed Product”.

Details

  • In the Microsoft Store (Library → Included with device), I see: Office Home & Student 2021 – included with this PC
  • There is a “Claim” button available
  • However, when I click “Claim”, nothing happens
    • No confirmation
      • No change to “Owned”
        • No activation prompt

Current Behavior

  • Opening Microsoft Word shows:
    • “Unlicensed Product”
      • Message indicating a trial/temporary pass has expired
      • There is no option to activate the included Office license

Account Information

  • I am signed in with my personal Microsoft account
  • I previously used a university Microsoft 365 account, which has now been removed
  • I have already signed out of all Office apps and removed the work/school account from Windows

Troubleshooting Performed

  • Signed out and back into Office apps
  • Removed work/school account from Windows settings
  • Restarted the device
  • Attempted to click “Claim” multiple times in Microsoft Store

Expected Behavior

After clicking “Claim”, I expect:

  • The license to be linked to my Microsoft account
  • Office to prompt for activation
  • Or the product to show as “Owned” instead of “Claim”

Request

Could you please advise how to properly claim and activate the Office Home & Student 2021 license included with my device, when the Microsoft Store “Claim” button does not respond? Thank you!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows
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  1. Norah-L 5,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-05T05:03:25.8333333+00:00

    Hello kumalala kumala savesta!

    Based on what you described, it looks like your device shows Office Home & Student 2021 included with this PC, but the Claim button in the Microsoft Store doesn’t respond, so Office apps (like Word) remain in an Unlicensed Product state and don’t prompt for activation.

    First, please follow the steps in the official Microsoft guide: Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office

    If the issue continues, try the additional steps below in this order:

    1. Confirm the license is attached to your account: Sign in to Services & subscriptions and check whether Office Home & Student 2021 appears under your products.
    2. Trigger activation from Word (desktop): Open Word > File > Account > Sign in with your personal Microsoft account
    3. Reset the Microsoft Store cache: Press Win + R, run wsreset.exe > reopen Microsoft Store, then try Claim again.
    4. Refresh the install if needed: Uninstall and reinstall Office, then sign in again to complete activation.

    Tips:

    • Close all Office apps and restart your PC, then try Claim again.
    • Make sure Date/Time/Time zone are set to automatic and synced.
    • If Word still shows Unlicensed Product, run the built‑in Office activation troubleshooter.
    • In some similar cases, this has been resolved with help from Microsoft Support remotely (Since this is a user‑to‑user community forum, we can only share suggestions based on our findings and personal experiences).

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

    1. Go to https://support.microsoft.com/home/contact
    2. In the search box, enter a short description of your issue, for example: Cannot claim Office Home & Student 2021
    3. Hit "Get Help"
    4. 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.

    Hope you issue will soon be sorted out. Feel free to post back if you need more clarification!

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

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