How to activate Office 2007 without product key

Once you have installed Microsoft Word 2007 on your computer, you can run the program 25 times without activating it. Word then switches to Reduced Functionality mode, in which you cannot create new documents or save changes to existing ones. Activating only takes a few minutes and there are two methods from which to choose. If you have connection to the Internet, you can activate the program online. If you are not connected to the Web or would rather speak to someone, you can activate it by phone.

Table of Contents Show

Activate Online
Activate by Phone
Trying to install and activate an old copy of Office 2007
How do I permanently activate Microsoft Office 2007?
How do I activate Microsoft Office without product key?
Does Office 2007 need product key?
Do you have to activate Office 2007?

Activate Online

Start Word. Click the Office Button and choose "Word Options."
Select "Resources" in the navigation pane. Click the "Activate" button to begin the wizard.
Enter the 25-character product key, which will either be on a sticker on the software package on a Certificate of Authenticity or in an email confirmation you received if you purchased the software online. Click "Continue."
Select "I Want to Activate the Software over the Internet (Recommended)." Click "Next."
Wait for the activation process to finish. Click "Close" when a confirmation message appears.

Activate by Phone

Start Word. Click the Office Button and choose "Word Options." Select "Resources" in the navigation pane. Click the "Activate" button to begin the wizard.
Enter the 25-character product key, which will either be on a sticker on the software package on a Certificate of Authenticity or in an email confirmation you received if you purchased the software online. Click "Continue."
Select "I Want to Activate the Software by Telephone." Click "Next" and select your country or region. Dial one of the telephone numbers provided for the Microsoft Office Activation Center and inform the representative that you want to activate Word 2007.
Provide the information requested by the representative, such as the installation ID that appears on the wizard. Type the confirmation code provided by the representative into the activation wizard and click "Next."
Wait for the activation process to finish. Click "Close" when a confirmation message appears.

New 27 Feb 2021 #1
Trying to install and activate an old copy of Office 2007

Hello everyone. My name is Stephen Lester and I am a retired senior with just enough experience to be dangerous! Recently, I was trying to install and activate an old copy of Office 2007. It installed ok but when I tried to activate it it gave me an error message stating the product key was invalid. When I called Microsoft they told me that Office 2007 not longer runs on windows 10! Anybody got any suggestions?
Thanks!
SFL
New 27 Feb 2021 #2

Stephenflester said:
When I called Microsoft they told me that Office 2007 not longer runs on windows 10!

Welcome to Ten Forums.
That is patently untrue. Office 2007 runs fine in Windows 10.....

...as you can see. In fact I have another machine with Office 2003 running on W10 without problems.
However I haven't had to reinstall either of them, they were already installed before upgrading from Win7 to Win10. Activation is your problem, other may be able to help with sorting that out.
New 27 Feb 2021 #3

Stephen,
I installed Office 2007 on a new Windows 10 computer last October and it activated without any issues or any need to call MS. It works correctly in all respects - as do the Office 2007 installations on all my other Windows 10 computers.
I suspect that MS were trying to bamboozle you. Office 2007 is
not supported on Windows 10. That does not mean it does not work. They were probably hoping you'd give up & sign up for a current version instead.
Your activation problem looks very similar [to me] to the initial reports by other posters who, it later transpired, had trial copies of later Office versions already installed [by the computer maker].
They had been, unknowingly, attempting to use their Office 2007 Product keys in a forlorn attempt to activate later versions.
Check Control panel, Progs & features [or Settings, Apps] to check for and uninstall every version of MS Office. Then just install Office 2007 and everything should be fine. These links might be useful if you run into problems -
Install Office 2007 - OfficeSupport
Uninstall Office from a PC - Office Support
Manually uninstall Office, Apps - OfficeSupport
Best of luck,
Denis

Last edited by Try3; 27 Feb 2021 at 19:12.
New 27 Feb 2021 #4

Just installed Microsoft Office 2000 on Windows 10, no unusual issues yet. I do not install the older versions of Outlook. Even FrontPage works.
New 01 Mar 2021 #5

To all: I told you I new just enough to be dangerous! When i looked through my files I found the correct product key for my installation, re-installed Office and everything is now peachy. Evidently the Product Key is specific to each set of disks even though both were the same installation (Office Pro 2007). I think that Microsoft was giving me malarkey when they told me that Office no longer ran on windows ten. Thanks to all who responded.
SFL
New 01 Mar 2021 #6

Stephenflester said:
Evidently the Product Key is specific to each set of disks even though both were the same installation (Office Pro 2007).
Stephen,
That is incorrect. There's something else different between your disk sets or between the different Product keys you hold. But as long as you make some decent notes about which Product key you used you'll now be okay.
All the best,
Denis
New 01 Mar 2021 #7

Stephenflester said:
... Evidently the Product Key is specific to each set of disks even though both were the same installation (Office Pro 2007).
No, but the key is specific to the edition of Office. There were multiple editions of Office 2007 including two versions of Pro, Pro and Pro Plus. Are you sure both your sets of disks are exactly the same edition?
Microsoft Office 2007 - Wikipedia - Editions
I think that Microsoft was giving me malarkey when they told me that Office no longer ran on windows ten...

No doubt about that. They were giving you the run around....

How do I permanently activate Microsoft Office 2007?

Access.

Click the Microsoft Office Button. , and then click Access Options..

Click Resources, and then click Activate..

If your software is activated, you receive the following confirmation message: This product has already been activated. If your software is not activated, the Activation Wizard starts..

How do I activate Microsoft Office without product key?

Step 1: Go to www.office.com/setup or Microsoft365.com/setup. Step 2: Sign in with your Microsoft account, or create one if you don't have one. Be sure to remember this account so that you can install or reinstall Office later, without a product key.

Does Office 2007 need product key?

Important: Although you aren't required to enter your Product Key at installation, we recommend you do so because it helps to verify that your software is legitimate. You can run your Office 2007 programs up to 25 times before you're required to enter a Product Key.