Installation guide
Office 2024 Professional Plus — install and activate
Office works backwards from what people expect: you install it first and type the key in afterwards, inside Word itself. There is no page to redeem anything on and no account to sign into. Read Before you start even if you skip the rest — it is where this goes wrong.
Office 2024 Professional Plus
$79.90
Before you start
Office 2024 Professional Plus does not install the way a Microsoft 365 subscription does. There is no website to redeem the key on: you install Office first, and then type the key into Office itself. Two things have to be in place before you begin, and getting them wrong can stop the install.
What you are installing
The edition that installs is Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 — the perpetual, long-term release. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Access, installed on your machine and yours to keep, with security updates but no new features.
Two things it does not include, so there are no surprises later: Microsoft Teams, which Microsoft now ships separately and gives away free, and Publisher, which Microsoft has retired. Skype for Business is offered as an optional extra while it installs.
Step 1
Remove every other Office first
Microsoft does not let two versions of Office share a machine, and the installer will not do this for you. Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps, uninstall anything named Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365 or a single app like Word or Excel, then restart the computer.
Warning: The trial counts, even if you never opened it
New computers are sold with a Microsoft 365 trial preinstalled. An expired trial you never once opened still blocks the install, and it can stop the install. Uninstall it like any other program before you continue.
If the uninstaller refuses or Office reappears, Microsoft publishes a free tool called the Support and Recovery Assistant that removes every trace. Ask us and we will point you at it.
System requirements
Light, by modern standards. One line in this table catches people out, though, so it is worth reading before you buy rather than after.
| Component | Minimum for Office 2024 |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 11. See the note below if your computer runs Windows 10. |
| Processor | 1.1 GHz or faster, 2 cores |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage | 4 GB of free space |
| Display | 1280 × 768 or larger |
| Internet | Needed to download Office, and again to activate the key |
Warning: If the computer runs ordinary Windows 10
Microsoft's supported-systems list for this release names Windows 11 and the LTSC editions of Windows 10 — the long-term versions used by companies. The ordinary Windows 10 that most home machines run is not on that list.
In practice it usually installs and runs there anyway. But it sits outside what Microsoft supports, which matters if you ever need their help rather than ours. If you are on Windows 10 and want to stay on supported ground, Windows 11 is the answer — and if you are not sure what your computer runs, ask us before you buy and we will tell you honestly whether this license fits it.
Install Office
About fifteen minutes, most of which is the download running by itself. Nothing in this chapter needs a Microsoft account.
Office 2024 Professional Plus installer
English, 64-bit — the right choice for almost every computer. Other languages and 32-bit are in the table under Languages, and 32-bit or 64-bit.
Warning: Do not sign in to a Microsoft account until this is finished
Install Office and put your key in first. Only then sign in to Word with a Microsoft account, if you want one at all — for OneDrive, or to carry your settings between machines.
Doing it the other way round is a reliable way to end up confused: Office greets you as a Microsoft 365 subscriber, offers to start a trial, and it stops being obvious which license is actually in force. Nothing is broken when that happens, but untangling it takes longer than doing it in the right order.
Where the installer comes from
The installer is a small program, which is why the file is only a few megabytes: it downloads Office itself while it runs, so keep the computer online until it finishes.
Whatever you run, check it first. Windows shows you the verified publisher before anything is installed, and for this installer it reads Technik Markt TMA e.K., the company that provides it. If that line is blank or names anything else, stop and write to us before going further.
Step 1
Run the installer as administrator
Open your Downloads folder, right-click the installer and choose Run as administrator. Windows asks whether to allow it to make changes to your device. Check that the Verified publisher line reads Technik Markt TMA e.K., then select Yes.
Step 2
Let Office download
From here the installer takes over and downloads Office. Leave the machine alone and connected until the window closes by itself.
Interrupting this is what produces a half-installed Office that then has to be removed and started again.
Step 3
Open Word
When it finishes, the installer closes without announcing anything. Press the Start button, type word, and open it from the results.
Enter your key
Office is on the machine at this point, but not yet licensed. This is what your key is for, and it takes about a minute.
Step 1
Open File → Account
In Word, select File, then Account at the bottom of the left-hand column. On the right, under Product Information, select Change Product Key.
"This product is unlicensed" is where everyone starts
Before your key goes in, this screen says the product is unlicensed and suggests connecting to a corporate network or contacting your system administrator. That wording is aimed at company IT departments and none of it applies to you.
It means one thing only: no key has been entered on this machine yet. Which is exactly where you are standing.
Step 2
Type the key
Enter the 25-character key from your delivery email. Include the hyphens. Then continue, and give Office a moment to check the key with Microsoft — it needs the internet for this one step.
Step 3
Check it took
Go back to File → Account. The yellow box and the unlicensed message should be gone, and the product should be named as activated. If it still looks unchanged, close Word completely and open it once more.
Installing it again later
On a new computer, or after wiping this one, you need two things: the installer and the same key. Both are in your delivery email, so keep it.
Step 1
Install Office again exactly as above, then enter the same key under File → Account → Change Product Key. There is no account to sign into and nothing to redeem a second time.
One computer at a time
This license covers one computer. Installing it on a second machine does not multiply it — if you are replacing a computer rather than adding one, remove Office from the old machine first.
A key also carries a limited number of activations. If you have moved it between machines several times and it eventually refuses, do not keep trying: send us your order number and we sort it out from our side.
Languages, and 32-bit or 64-bit
Office 2024 exists in both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version, and in every language Microsoft publishes it in. The installer that comes with your order is already set to one of each: the language you ordered in, and 64-bit, which is the right choice for effectively every computer sold in the last ten years.
Your key does not care about either. The same 25 characters activate Office in any language and in either version, so installing the wrong one costs you nothing but time — uninstall it, install the one you wanted, and put the same key in again.
If you need a different language or the 32-bit version, take it from the table below.
When 32-bit is the one you want
Two cases, and both are unusual. One: the computer itself is 32-bit — by now that means it is old enough that Windows 11 will not run on it either. Two: you depend on an old add-in, macro or database driver that was only ever built for 32-bit Office. That second one is what actually catches people, and it is nearly always Access or an accounting package.
If neither is true, take 64-bit and do not think about it again.
If it fails
Office shows a code or a short message when something goes wrong, and that code says exactly what happened. Find yours here before writing to us — it will usually be quicker.
Codes you may see