Updated 18/11/2014 because MS changed everything again
Because I support users in a fair few countries, I run into some interesting localization issues.
Check that the Office installation is activated.
Log in as the end user, then repeat the above steps from the **.
And there you have it, Office Retail activated for an AD user without creating an MS Account for them.
Because I support users in a fair few countries, I run into some interesting localization issues.
Microsoft tends to be the biggest offender, and Office 2013 H&B is the latest culprit.
Simply put, when you buy Office 2013 Retail in the US, activation REQUIRES a Microsoft Account. Even though there is an option to "Activate with a Product Key instead", selecting this takes the user to a website to log in with or create a Microsoft account. This is because MS want to tie the license to the User, NOT the PC, as was the case with Office 2010. This is different to Australia, where Office 2013 Retail can be activated directly with the provided 25 character Product Key.
Why buy Retail, rather than OLP? Because it's a bit over half the price and does the same job.
Why not create a MS Account for the user? Because I didn't/don't want to confuse them even further with an extra account, and I usually don't know the users D.O.B. etc.
SO, how do we fix this issue?
Firstly, make sure "you" have a Microsoft Account, and that your AD username is tied to it. This is done by adding an alias in your MS Account with your AD full username/email address, such as "first.last@domain.".
Log into the users computer with an AD Administrator.
Add the AD user to the computer, in whichever Group you wish.
Set "your" AD username as a member of the computer Administrators Group.
Log in as "you".
Go to the MS Office download page.
Enter PKC from retail package, click Get Started
Log in with "your" AD account
Scroll to the bottom of the new page, click Install.
Run the file that requests the download.
Once the installation has finished,
**Open Excel 2013, click Open Other Workbooks on the left
Then Account at the bottom
Go to the MS Office download page.
Enter PKC from retail package, click Get Started
Log in with "your" AD account
Scroll to the bottom of the new page, click Install.
Run the file that requests the download.
Once the installation has finished,
**Open Excel 2013, click Open Other Workbooks on the left
Then Account at the bottom
Check that the Office installation is activated.
Log in as the end user, then repeat the above steps from the **.
You should see Product Activated.
And there you have it, Office Retail activated for an AD user without creating an MS Account for them.
