I'm trying to standardize our deployment image so the team only has to maintain one Office installation. The idea is to install Microsoft 365 Apps during imaging, then activate each machine according to the user or device entitlement: Office LTSC 2024 for shared desktops, interns, and some frontline workers, and Microsoft 365 Apps for corporate users or others with subscription licenses. I tested applying an Office 2024 KMS key with ospp.vbs to a Microsoft 365 Apps installation, and it appeared to activate and function normally. However, I'm concerned about long-term problems, updates, support, and whether switching between licensing types later would require removing and reinstalling Office. I also want to avoid confusing users when two people have different features because one has LTSC 2024 and the other has Microsoft 365 Apps. Is there a supported way to keep one base installation and apply the appropriate license later, or should we maintain separate deployment configurations?
3 Answers
The safer approach is to keep a common deployment process but use separate Office Deployment Tool configuration files or deployment scripts for each entitlement. You can decide whether the device gets Microsoft 365 Apps or LTSC 2024 based on a user or device group, then install the matching product and activation method. That gives the team one repeatable workflow without pretending both editions are the same installation. Test any in-place conversion separately, because changing activation keys does not necessarily guarantee a clean product conversion or future update compatibility.
Microsoft 365 Apps and Office LTSC 2024 are separate products, even though both use the Click-to-Run installer. Applying the LTSC 2024 KMS client key to a Microsoft 365 Apps installation can appear to work because it changes the installed product into the volume-licensed LTSC edition. It isn’t really activating Microsoft 365 Apps with an alternate license, so subscription features and update behavior may differ. Microsoft 365 Apps normally uses subscription activation through a licensed account, while LTSC 2024 uses volume activation such as KMS. A single KMS-based image for both products is likely to create inconsistent configurations and support problems.
Device-based licensing may be worth investigating for shared or user-independent machines. You can place the device in the appropriate directory or management group, assign the relevant license or deployment configuration, and let Intune or another management system install the matching Office edition. For user-based Microsoft 365 licensing, assign the product through the user’s account instead. This can reduce manual decisions during onboarding, but the device and user licensing rules still need to be clearly separated.
That makes sense. Our corporate users have Microsoft 365, while interns, frontline workers, and some shared desktops use Office 2024. I was hoping to avoid removing one product and reinstalling the other whenever a new user is onboarded, but it sounds like the licensing model still requires us to deploy the correct product.