Hey fellow system admins! I need your advice on an issue I'm facing. I've got a VIP user with a new laptop, and he's one of the few allowed to have an Office license while the rest of our clients are on Outlook via a terminal server. We've ordered Office LTSC Standard 2024, since the 2021 version is nearing its end-of-support date in October 2026.
I downloaded the Office Deployment Tool and created an XML config file, and the installation went smoothly with the command `setup.exe /configure configfile.xml`. However, when I went to activate the license using an admin command shell with `cscript OSPP.VBS /inpkey:KEY` followed by `cscript OSPP.VBS /act`, it initially said I was licensed.
But, when I launched Outlook, it asked me to log into a M365 account or enter a license key, indicating it wasn't licensed anymore. I've tried setting various registry keys to suppress cloud licensing and modern auth features, but I'm still encountering issues. When I check licensing status with `cscript /dstatus`, I see some odd trial licenses listed.
Has anyone run into this issue before or have any suggestions on what might be going wrong? I'd greatly appreciate any help! Cheers!
3 Answers
That's weird! When I deploy Office via the toolkit, it asks whether I have a product key, and I can skip it or provide an Office 365 account. You might be licensing it only for the admin account if you're activating from an admin shell. Just a thought—make sure your user's account is set up properly, it shouldn't require Office 365 for just connecting to an Exchange mailbox.
Check if, while using Outlook, it shows as Office LTSC Standard 2024 under 'Office Account' in the menu. If it displays as not licensed, there may be a deployment issue with the installation. Let me know what you find out!
Make sure you have this registry key set properly: `ExcludeExplicitO365Endpoint` should be set to 1 in `HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftOffice16.0OutlookAutoDiscover`. It seems like you might be missing that key, which could be causing the issues for you. Good luck!
Wait, are you saying the license might only be activated for the local admin? That's frustrating! Plus, the user only has a 2019 Exchange mailbox and not a 365 account.