Office 2016 and 2019 holdouts blame update for license deactivation bug
But was the update at fault? Microsoft isn't saying
A recent optional update for outdated Microsoft 365 applications has reportedly caused a bug that deactivates Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 installations. This activation issue, which emerged this week, primarily affects Home and Business perpetual license installations, causing them to lose their authenticated status and prompting users to repeatedly enter their product key or face reduced functionality.
Users report that a previously activated Office 2016 or 2019 copy suddenly loses its activation information, leading to alarming pop-ups and warnings of impending functionality loss. The fix, according to some, involves re-entering the original product key, but this can be problematic for those with numerous affected devices. One user experienced the issue, which took out their Office 2016 installations, noting that it required multiple reactivations and sign-ins to restore stability.
Online, many users suspect the problem may be linked to KB5002907, an optional update for Windows PCs with Microsoft 365 Apps older than 90 days. While Microsoft states the update is not automatic, affected users believe the issue began when the update appeared. Microsoft ended support for Office 2016 and 2019 on October 14, 2025, and is not obligated to provide updates for the software.
Despite this, occasional patches have inadvertently broken functionality in the past, such as the recent Paste problems following an Excel update.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Software's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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