In this guide, I will demonstrate how to activate Office 365 for free without relying on third-party applications such as KMSpico or KMSAuto Net. By following these methods, you can ensure the security of your system without risking potential viruses from external programs. Both approaches I will outline are entirely safe, and the activation process for Office 365 is simple to follow. I’ll provide detailed instructions accompanied by images for clarity. The first method entails activating Office 365 via cmd, while the second method involves using an Office 365 activator txt file. But before delving into the activation steps, let me provide you with a brief overview of transitioning to Office 365.
In my earlier post, I talked about how to download and install Office 365 Multi-language from the Microsoft website. When you install it, you get a free trial for 30 days. But after that, some important features stop working unless you subscribe to Office 365.
I know it can be tough if you are tight on money. So, here is a tip: you can activate Office using a KMS license key. It is also free and legal, just like the trial license, and it lasts for 180 days. And if you need more time, you can easily renew the license. Therefore, by using this method you can keep using Office without having to pay for a subscription.
Remove Your Current Trial License
If you still have an active trial license for Office, it is a good idea to remove it before switching to a KMS license. Even though activating with a KMS license restores important features, you might still see notifications about the expired trial, which can be confusing. To avoid any issues, it’s best to follow the steps in this post to uninstall the trial license.
By doing this extra step, you reduce the chances of seeing any leftover reminders or notifications from the expired trial after activating a KMS license.
Activate Office 365 using KMS Client Key
Let’s use the KMS Client Key to Activate Office 365. There are two methods of doing so therefore, I will tell you both of them.
The first is activation using Command Prompt and therefore using the KMS client key commands.
Method 1: Manual Activation Using Command Prompt
First of all, we are going to activate Office 365 with the help of some commands that we are going to run in CMD. Well, this method of activation is almost the same as the method of activation of Windows Servers. So, just follow the steps available below and activate Office 365 for free.
1. Search and Open cmd as Administrator
First of all search ‘cmd‘ in the start search bar and from there run the cmd with administrator rights. For more details read this article “How to Open the Command Prompt (CMD) as Administrator“
2. Open Your Office Directory in CMD
If you install your Office in the ProgramFiles folder, the path will be different depending on your Windows OS. For a 64-bit system, it’s usually “%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16”, and for a 32-bit system, it’s “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16”. If you’re not sure, you can run both commands, and one will give you an error message, showing you the correct path.
cd /d %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16
cd /d %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16
3. Convert Office Retail License to Volume License
If you downloaded Office directly from Microsoft’s official sources, this step is typically necessary to validate your license and ensure proper functionality. However, if you’re installing Office from a Volume ISO file, you might consider this step optional. This thing lets you have more control over your installation process. You can choose to skip this step if you prefer. The command for changing the license type is:
for /f %x in ('dir /b ..\root\Licenses16\proplusvl_kms*.xrm-ms') do cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\%x"
4. Office 365 Activation Using KMS Key
Before activating Office, ensure your system is connected to a stable internet connection. Then, proceed by running these commands:
cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1688
cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:6MWKP >nul
cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:NMMKJ-6RK4F-KMJVX-8D9MJ-6MWKP
cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:107.175.77.7
cscript ospp.vbs /act
Expected Error and Its Solution
If you encounter error 0xC004F074 during the final step, it’s likely due to a weak internet connection or server congestion. To resolve this, ensure your internet connection is stable and then continue retrying the ‘act’ command until the activation is successful.
Command Prompt Code View
C:\Windows\system32>cd /d %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cd /d %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16
The system cannot find the path specified.
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>for /f %x in ('dir /b ..\root\Licenses16\proplusvl_kms*.xrm-ms') do cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\%x"
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\ProPlusVL_KMS_Client-ppd.xrm-ms"
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
Installing Office license: ..\root\licenses16\proplusvl_kms_client-ppd.xrm-ms
Office license installed successfully.
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\ProPlusVL_KMS_Client-ul-oob.xrm-ms"
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
Installing Office license: ..\root\licenses16\proplusvl_kms_client-ul-oob.xrm-ms
Office license installed successfully.
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\ProPlusVL_KMS_Client-ul.xrm-ms"
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
Installing Office license: ..\root\licenses16\proplusvl_kms_client-ul.xrm-ms
Office license installed successfully.
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:XQNVK-8JYDB-WJ9W3-YJ8YR-WFG99
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:BTDRB >nul
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:KHGM9 >nul
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:CPQVG >nul
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:107.175.77.7
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
Successfully applied setting.
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1688
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
Successfully applied setting.
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>cscript ospp.vbs /act
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
---Processing--------------------------
Installed product key detected - attempting to activate the following product:
SKU ID: d450596f-894d-49e0-966a-fd39ed4c4c64
LICENSE NAME: Office 16, Office16ProPlusVL_KMS_Client edition
LICENSE DESCRIPTION: Office 16, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel
Last 5 characters of installed product key: WFG99
---Exiting-----------------------------
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16>2. Activate Office 365 using batch File
This is another way of activating Office 365, however, it is not recommended anymore because of the latest update of Microsoft. However, I will still guide you through the process of how it is done.
1. Copy the Code
First, of all copy the code below:
@echo off
title Activate Office 365 ProPlus for FREE - MSGuides.com&cls&echo =====================================================================================&echo #Project: Activating Microsoft software products for FREE without additional software&echo =====================================================================================&echo.&echo #Supported products: Office 365 ProPlus (x86-x64)&echo.&echo.&(if exist "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" cd /d "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16")&(if exist "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" cd /d "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16")&(for /f %%x in ('dir /b ..\root\Licenses16\proplusvl_kms*.xrm-ms') do cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\%%x" >nul)&(for /f %%x in ('dir /b ..\root\Licenses16\proplusvl_mak*.xrm-ms') do cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\%%x" >nul)&echo.&echo ============================================================================&echo Activating your Office...&cscript //nologo slmgr.vbs /ckms >nul&cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /setprt:1688 >nul&cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /unpkey:WFG99 >nul&cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /unpkey:DRTFM >nul&cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /unpkey:BTDRB >nul&set i=1&cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /inpkey:XQNVK-8JYDB-WJ9W3-YJ8YR-WFG99 >nul||cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /inpkey:NMMKJ-6RK4F-KMJVX-8D9MJ-6MWKP >nul||goto notsupported
:skms
if %i% GTR 10 goto busy
if %i% EQU 1 set KMS=kms7.MSGuides.com
if %i% EQU 2 set KMS=107.175.77.7
if %i% GTR 2 goto ato
cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /sethst:%KMS% >nul
:ato
echo ============================================================================&echo.&echo.&cscript //nologo ospp.vbs /act | find /i "successful" && (echo.&echo ============================================================================&echo.&echo #My official blog: MSGuides.com&echo.&echo #How it works: bit.ly/kms-server&echo.&echo #Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.&echo.&echo #Please consider supporting this project: donate.msguides.com&echo #Your support is helping me keep my servers running 24/7!&echo.&echo ============================================================================&choice /n /c YN /m "Would you like to visit my blog [Y,N]?" & if errorlevel 2 exit) || (echo The connection to my KMS server failed! Trying to connect to another one... & echo Please wait... & echo. & echo. & set /a i+=1 & goto skms)
explorer "http://MSGuides.com"&goto halt
:notsupported
echo ============================================================================&echo.&echo Sorry, your version is not supported.&echo.&goto halt
:busy
echo ============================================================================&echo.&echo Sorry, the server is busy and can't respond to your request. Please try again.&echo.
:halt
pause >nul2. Save the Code as a Batch File
After copying the code all you have to do is to save it as a batch file. To do so just follow the instructions available below:
Create a text document by right-clicking anywhere on your desktop and then hovering over the ‘New‘ and then from there clicking on ‘Text Document‘.
After creating a new text document open it and paste the code in it. After pasting the code, click on the ‘File‘ option and from there click on ‘Save as…‘. Then choose the location where you want to save it and give it a name that ends with ‘.cmd’. For example, you give it the name ‘office365.cmd’. Then click on save.
After, run click the batch file that you have created with admin rights.
The script will automatically start working and your Office 365 will be activated.
Important Notes:
- Please note I have only tested this method with the Office 365 ProPlus version. I cannot guarantee its working criteria with other versions.
- Step 3 is marked as “important” because the User Account Control (UAC) system may block this process if you do not perform it.
How to Renew Office 365 license
If you are thinking of the concept of renewing your license, then let me tell you that by default, your license will be renewed automatically every seven days but in some cases, it can be stuck. So you need to renew the license manually. Therefore, to solve this problem I have a complete tutorial on renewing a Microsoft Office/Windows KMS license for FREE manually, go check it out.
Conclusion
In this article, I have outlined two methods that you can use to activate Office 365 for free. What sets this article apart from others discussing Office activation is its focus on activating Office 365 without relying on third-party software. By following the instructions provided, you can activate your Microsoft Office 365 subscription without any additional costs. The command prompt method (Office 365 Activator cmd) is particularly straightforward and can be implemented immediately. Additionally, the Office 365 Activator txt file is also provided, offering a widely used activation method. Choose whichever method suits you best to activate your Office 365 subscription.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment. I’m here to provide more detailed explanations if needed. Thank you for all your feedback and support!