Microsoft Office not renewed and now cannot use ....

Hustler · Mar 8, 2021

My microsoft office £59.99 subscription was up for renewal yesterday and I thought I would not renew as I'm
quite happy with the current version so therefore wouldn't bother.
And today I cannot create a word document and cannot update an existing excel document.
So does this mean I'm locked into this and therefore need to pay my subscription ?
Every year ?
I guess it does but thought I'd check with people who know before I shell out my money.

I only started this subscription a couple of years ago when we went to 64 bit or some similar technology
and before this I did not have a microsoft subscription although cannot remember the why's and
wherefore's involved in that.

Thanks very much.

hops · Mar 8, 2021

There are several free alternatives, such as Libre Office, but I believe you will not be able to access your OneDrive files if you don't subscribe.

Joe narvey · Mar 8, 2021

Hustler said:
My microsoft office £59.99 subscription was up for renewal yesterday and I thought I would not renew as I'm
quite happy with the current version so therefore wouldn't bother.
And today I cannot create a word document and cannot update an existing excel document.
So does this mean I'm locked into this and therefore need to pay my subscription ?
Every year ?
I guess it does but thought I'd check with people who know before I shell out my money.

I only started this subscription a couple of years ago when we went to 64 bit or some similar technology
and before this I did not have a microsoft subscription although cannot remember the why's and
wherefore's involved in that.

Thanks very much.

In short yes. You have a subscription to use it ( a licence) for 12 months. You don’t own it. Another bloody annoying feature is very so often the software wants to talk to the mother ship and if it can’t it wont let you save files. I discovered this when in Iceland with no connectivity and I we’d to work on a report for work but I couldn’t save it.

rjsmith26 · Mar 8, 2021

I am guessing its "office 365" - the clue I am afraid is in the name - you pay for it for 365 days at a time. If you don't renew you cannot use on day 366

Fluffmeister · Mar 8, 2021

It’s subscription based and every 30 days it needs to hit the mothership to check you are still licensed, if not it goes into reduced functionality mode.

Hustler · Mar 8, 2021

Thanks very much folks.
Guess I'll have to pay up as I do want to be able to use all my existing files.
Shame, but worse troubles at sea and all that.
Thanks again, appreciated.

wessie · Mar 8, 2021

Do you need the Office 365 functionality?

If not, get an earlier version. I bought a legit Office 2016 through my employer's scheme. Cost me a tenner. Sadly, the employer does not offer this anymore, just a discount on the annual scam that is 365.

Plenty of legit copies of 2016 on Amazon or Ebay for around £25, less if you find an OEM seller with surplus licences that are supposed to be sold with new computers.

squibb34 · Mar 8, 2021

If MS have control of all your O/365 data in the cloud, then sadly they have got you over the barrel.

Fishing around on Google I see some people talk of still having product keys for the likes of O/2010 sitting around, so they have deleted O/365 & reverted back to the old unsupported software. However, as I understand it, this would rely on backing up O/365 data locally before day 366 of the cycle, or losing it. Then I wonder if that would all be read only .... anyone tried it?

wessie · Mar 8, 2021

squibb34 said:
If MS have control of all your O/365 data in the cloud, then sadly they have got you over the barrel.

Fishing around on Google I see some people talk of still having product keys for the likes of O/2010 sitting around, so they have deleted O/365 & reverted back to the old unsupported software. However, as I understand it, this would rely on backing up O/365 data locally before day 366 of the cycle, or losing it. Then I wonder if that would all be read only .... anyone tried it?

there should be a grace period after the sub ends where files can be accessed in the cloud and then stored locally - they should still be accessible in other versions of Office just like emailing them to a 3rd party i.e. visible in legacy mode but might not have all the 365 functionality.

https://www.terminalb.com/blog/what-happens-if-i-dont-renew-microsoft-365/ explains the graduated process. I suspect the OP is in the 90 day, intermediary period where the account is in a disabled "read only" state.

Joca · Mar 8, 2021

You don't have to renew online with Microsoft. You can purchase a year license elsewhare, often cheaper. I got a 6 PC licence for £40 at Argos when on offer.

Hustler · Mar 8, 2021

wessie said:
......... I suspect the OP is in the 90 day, intermediary period where the account is in a disabled "read only" state.

That's it. Read only is all I have.

I'm going for the 365 personal at 59.99 per annum.
Looked at a one off payment but that is for one PC only and I need to be able to use it on a couple of PCs.
All my files are on the PC and not in the cloud.
I'm Apple PC as well although not sure that makes any difference.

Thanks again folks.

richie · Mar 8, 2021

Open office, almost as good, costs nothing. Does what most people need, I used to teach all MS Office programs and know what they can do. Open office ticks almost all the boxes.

wessie · Mar 8, 2021

Hustler said:
That's it. Read only is all I have.

I'm going for the 365 personal at 59.99 per annum.
Looked at a one off payment but that is for one PC only and I need to be able to use it on a couple of PCs.
All my files are on the PC and not in the cloud.
I'm Apple PC as well although not sure that makes any difference.

Thanks again folks.

an Apple PC would likely restrict the availability of older versions of Office - most of the stuff on Ebay, Amazon etc is for Windows PCs. Usually unused licences left over from bulk purchases that are now surplus after an upgrade to a newer version.

Hustler · Mar 8, 2021

richie said:
Open office, almost as good, costs nothing. Does what most people need, I used to teach all MS Office programs and know what they can do. Open office ticks almost all the boxes.

And hops mentioned Libre office in post number 2 above.

Bit out of my depth on these but I'll have a read before I commit to Microsoft.

Thanks again everyone.

trebor · Mar 8, 2021

I believe you can use the online versions of Office for free. The only downside is that the Apps are not as fully featured as the purchased or subscription version, and you do need to have an internet connection to use them.

lmg · Mar 8, 2021

Hustler said:
That's it. Read only is all I have.

I'm going for the 365 personal at 59.99 per annum.
Looked at a one off payment but that is for one PC only and I need to be able to use it on a couple of PCs.
All my files are on the PC and not in the cloud.
I'm Apple PC as well although not sure that makes any difference.

Thanks again folks.

I bought a legit MS Office Pro 2019 activation card off of Amazon as my Office365 license expired as well and wasn't prepared to pay the fees MS wanted. I think I paid £30 for the MSOffice 2019 version and it works on my Mac as well.

Mr Bean · Mar 8, 2021

lmg said:
I bought a legit MS Office Pro 2019 activation card off of Amazon as my Office365 license expired as well and wasn't prepared to pay the fees MS wanted. I think I paid £30 for the MSOffice 2019 version

Me too.

Hustler · Mar 9, 2021

I renewed with Microsoft 365 personal at £59.99 per annum in the end.

I've made a note to look for something better before next renewal but needed to get it sorted so went for the easy option for now.
A few of you did point me to Amazon but I'm afraid I refuse to use that company after they subscribed me to Amazon Prime some years ago, which was their idea not mine.
I found that really underhand and unethical and decided at that point I would not use that company again.

Thanks again for the help and ideas, all appreciated.

richie · Mar 9, 2021

Hustler said:
I renewed with Microsoft 365 personal at £59.99 per annum in the end.

I've made a note to look for something better before next renewal but needed to get it sorted so went for the easy option for now.
A few of you did point me to Amazon but I'm afraid I refuse to use that company after they subscribed me to Amazon Prime some years ago, which was their idea not mine.
I found that really underhand and unethical and decided at that point I would not use that company again.

Thanks again for the help and ideas, all appreciated.

Amazon, I'm with you, they did that to me too. Do try smart office, it is very good, shareware, easy to install and 100% compatible.

Microsoft Office not renewed and now cannot use ....

Hustler

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hops

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Joe narvey

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rjsmith26

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Fluffmeister

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Hustler

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wessie

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squibb34

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wessie

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Hustler

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