Topics Answered in this Article
Mac Office Licensing Errors
Mac Office Files Cannot Be Edited
Mac Microsoft Office Activation Issues
macOS Office Authentication Problems
Mac Office License Removal
Mac Office Re-Activation
Overview
This article provides troubleshooting steps for Microsoft Office licensing issues on macOS. It applies to users who receive messages indicating that Microsoft Office applications are not licensed correctly, cannot be activated, or are preventing documents from being edited.
Instructions
Resolve "This File Cannot Be Edited on a Mac"
If Microsoft Office displays a message stating that a file cannot be edited on a Mac, remove the existing Office license files and re-authenticate Microsoft Office.
- Use Microsoft's Office license removal tool to remove the existing Office license.
- Open a Microsoft Office application and sign in with your UT account to activate Office again.
Instructions from Microsoft to Only Remove the Office for Mac License
https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/how-to-remove-office-license-files-on-a-mac-b032c0f6-a431-4dad-83a9-6b727c03b193
Troubleshooting
Microsoft Office Is Not Activated After Removing the License
- Completely uninstall Microsoft Office.
- Reinstall Microsoft Office.
- Launch an Office application and sign in to activate the software.
Office Documents Open in Read-Only Mode
- Remove the existing Office license files.
- Sign in again to reactivate Office.
- Reopen the affected document and verify editing is available.
Instructions from Microsoft to Fully Uninstall Office for Mac and Remove License
https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/troubleshoot-office-for-mac-issues-by-completely-uninstalling-before-you-reinstall-ec3aa66e-6a76-451f-9d35-cba2e14e94c0
Additional Information
Licensing issues can occasionally occur after Microsoft Office updates on macOS. Re-authenticating Office by removing the existing license files typically allows the application to obtain a new license and restore normal functionality.