How to Install and Activate Office 2016 Professional Plus (Step by Step)

Activate Office 2016 Pro Plus in 4 steps. Open the download below → install → choose phone activation → submit your Installation ID using the form on this page. About Office 2016 Pro Plus Office 2016 Professional Plus is a perpetual-license edition of Microsoft Office — one payment, no monthly subscription, and yours to keep. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, and OneNote as classic desktop applications, plus Skype for Business. Office 2016 introduced the Tell Me search box, real-time co-authoring in Word, smart attachments in Outlook that auto-suggest recent files, and Power Query as a built-in Excel feature. It’s a good fit for buyers with specific compatibility requirements (older add-ins, legacy macros, or document templates that pre-date newer Office versions). This guide walks you through the full activation flow. It takes about 10 minutes end to end. If your key won’t activate after following the steps, see Troubleshooting below or open a support ticket. What you’ll need before starting Your license key from the order confirmation email we sent you (subject line: “Your ActSoftware order”) A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC with administrator rights At least 5 GB of free disk space An internet connection to download the installer (the activation itself does not require internet) About 10 minutes of uninterrupted time Step 1: Download Office Use the following link to download the official English .img Office 2016 Professional Plus file from Microsoft, if you do not have it already installed. Download Office 2016 Professional Plus Step 2: Extract and Install Once downloaded, install Winrar (download here) and extract the .img file, you can also double-click it to mount it in your system. Run the setup file and install Office. Once installed, open any office app and it will ask for a serial key and then for activation. Enter your serial key and when it asks for activation just select, “I want to activate the software over by telephone.“, Then click “Next” and continue to Step 3. You don’t have to call. Step 3: Get Installation ID You will now see a new window where you need to select your country and make a note of the Installation ID. Step 4: Submit Installation ID Carefully type and submit your Installation ID in the form below and a Confirmation ID will be emailed to you which you need to enter back into the activation page to activate your product. Email Address: Enter the email address used for your order Order ID: Enter your order ID (numbers only) Installation ID: Enter your 63 digit Installation ID Submit Troubleshooting “The product key you entered isn’t valid” Cause: the key was mistyped, or whitespace was copied from the email. Fix: copy the key carefully (no leading/trailing spaces), or open the order email, select the key, copy, then paste using Ctrl+V. Activation wizard skips straight to “Sign in with a Microsoft account” Cause: Office is trying online activation, not phone activation. Fix: close the dialog, open any Office app (Word), go to File → Account → Change Product Key, enter the key, and at the activation screen choose “I want to activate the software over the telephone”. The Installation ID form on this page returns “key not found” Cause: your order is still being processed, or you entered the wrong key. Fix: wait 5 minutes after payment confirmation, or contact support with your order number — we’ll match the key manually. Confirmation ID doesn’t activate Office Cause: an extra character or digit was missed when copying. Fix: copy the Confirmation ID directly from the email — don’t retype it. If it still fails, contact support and we’ll re-issue a fresh Installation ID + Confirmation ID pair. Office activates but says “Product without license” later Cause: rare licensing-cache issue. Fix: open Command Prompt as administrator and run cscript ospp.vbs /act from C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16 — or just contact support and we’ll send a replacement key under the 30-Day Replacement Guarantee. Frequently Asked Questions Is this a one-time purchase or a subscription? One-time. Pay once, keep Office forever (or until the underlying hardware retires). There’s no annual renewal, no expiry, and no recurring charge. Can I install this on a Mac? No. Office 2024 Professional Plus is a Windows-only product. For Mac, see Office 2024 Home & Business for PC/Mac or one of the Mac-specific editions. Can I transfer this key to another PC later? No. The license is bound to the device you first activate it on. If you switch PCs, you’ll need a new key. (Windows licenses behave differently — they can be re-linked to a Microsoft account and moved to new hardware. Office desktop keys cannot.) Do I need internet to use Office after activation? No. After phone activation, Office runs completely offline. You only need internet to download the installer or to sync with OneDrive (which is not bundled here). What’s the difference between Pro Plus and Home & Business? Pro Plus includes Access (database) and Outlook with full business calendar features. Home & Business has Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook — but no Access. Is Office 2016 still supported by Microsoft? Mainstream support for Office 2016 Pro Plus ended in October 2020; extended security updates ended in October 2025. The software still installs and runs, and continues to be usable, but it no longer receives new security patches. Recommended for buyers who specifically need 2016-era compatibility. For most other use cases, consider Office 2021 Pro Plus or Office 2019 Pro Plus. Related products Office 2021 Pro Plus Security updates through 2031 — newer perpetual release Office 2019 Pro Plus Mid-generation perpetual — still installs and runs cleanly Office 365 Pro Plus 5 devices, lifetime account, 1TB cloud included Wondering whether ActSoftware is the right place to buy from? See why thousands of buyers trust us →