Troubleshoot volume activation for Office 2013

 

Applies to: Office 2013

Summary: Explains how to troubleshoot common errors for KMS or MAK-based activation of Office 2013.

Audience: IT Professionals

Are you a user?

If you are a user troubleshooting a personal Office 2013 install, review the list of most common install problems.

Are you an admin?

If you are an admin troubleshooting Office 365 ProPlus activation and licensing, see Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office instead.

If you are an admin troubleshooting a Volume license edition of Office 2013, you’re at the right place, keep reading.

Setting up volume activation with Office 2013 by using Key Management Service (KMS) or Multiple Activation Key (MAK) can be challenging. Use these steps to troubleshoot the most common issues.

Many of the solutions include running the Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs), which you can find either in the "%programfiles%\microsoft office\office15" or the "%programfiles(x86)%\microsoft office\office15" folder of the client computer. You have to run it at the administrative command prompt. You can also use the Software License Manager script (Slmgr.vbs) to configure and manage volume activation. For detailed information about these scripts, see Tools to manage Office 2013 volume activation.

In this article:

  • KMS activation issues

  • MAK activation issues

  • How to get the text for activation error codes

  • Other activation issues

KMS activation issues

This section lists common activation issues with Office 2013 KMS.

KMS activation issues can be due to a misconfiguration on one or more of the following items:

  • Office client

  • Network/DNS

  • KMS host

To quickly identify your KMS trouble spots, use either the Office Client KMS activation diagnostic or Office KMS Host Activation diagnostic tool to analyze your environment for known issues. These diagnostic tools automate almost all of the troubleshooting steps available for KMS issues and provide a detailed report with recommendations on how to fix the detected issues.

You should always analyze the client first by using the Office Client KMS activation diagnostic tool, even if you feel you have a KMS Host configuration problem. It’ll determine if your changes need to occur on the client, your network, or your KMS host.

If the Office Client KMS activation diagnostic tool indicates you have KMS host issues, you should then run the Office KMS Host Activation diagnostic tool.

To use the Office Client KMS activation diagnostic tool

  1. As a local administrator, log into any Office client that is unable to activate using KMS activation.

  2. Go to Office Client KMS activation diagnostic tool and sign in to the Microsoft Support Diagnostics Self-Help portal with your Microsoft Account credentials.

  3. On the New Session page, choose Office Client KMS activation diagnostic.

  4. Enter a name in Session Name text box and then choose Create.

  5. To start the analysis, choose Download.

  6. When you are prompted, choose Run or Save File. If you choose Save File, you can later run the file from the folder where you saved it.

  7. When prompted to select the computer on which to run the diagnostic, choose This Computer, and then choose Next. On the next page choose Start.

  8. When the diagnostic displays an alert indicating a report has been saved, choose Open Report.

  9. Review the details listed in the report Summary section, and then review the problems listed in the Issues Detected section and follow the recommendations provided under Recommended steps and related resources.

To use the Office KMS Host Activation diagnostic tool

  1. As a local administrator, log into your Office KMS host computer.

  2. Go to Office KMS Host Activation diagnostic tool and sign in to the Microsoft Support Diagnostics Self-Help portal with your Microsoft Account credentials.

  3. On the New Session page, choose Office Client KMS Host Activation diagnostic.

  4. Enter a name in Session Name text box and then choose Create.

  5. To start the analysis, choose Download.

  6. When you are prompted, choose Run or Save File. If you choose Save File, you can later run the file from the folder where you saved it.

  7. When prompted to select the computer on which to run the diagnostic, choose This Computer, and then choose Next. On the next page choose Start.

  8. A report is automatically generated and opened in your browser.

  9. Review the information listed in the Summary section and then review the problems listed in the Details section. Follow the recommendations provided under Action needed or comment for the items flagged with ‘Attention Required’ in the Result column.

MAK activation issues

This section lists common issues with MAK activation for Office 2013.

The Office 2013 client does not activate when it is connected to the network through an authenticated proxy

You have to be connected to the Internet to use MAK activation. However, if your Internet connection requires authentication, MAK activation won’t work and you’ll have to activate over the telephone. For more information about this issue, see Knowledge Base article 921471: Activation fails when you try to activate Windows over the Internet.

How to get the text for activation error codes

Error codes help you troubleshoot activation issues. If you see a dialog box that contains an activation notification, an error code is usually displayed at the lower corner. You can then run ospp.vbs /ddescr together with the error code to see the text of the error message. The text will help you better understand the issue and what to do to fix it.

Another way to obtain an error code is to run ospp.vbs /act on the client computer to manually activate Office. If activation fails, an error code will be shown.

Other activation issues

Office 2013 Volume License Pack installation incorrectly says you’ve installed Preview

When you first install the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack, you may see a dialog box that is labeled Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack Preview. "Preview" is incorrect: the final release version of Office 2013 is installed correctly, and functionality isn’t affected. A workaround isn’t required.

Licensing information is not updated on the client

To display licensing information for Office applications on the KMS client, on the File menu, choose Account.

If you see a notification that product activation is required even though you know that Office 2013 is in the licensed state, restart the application.

The client applications can be in this state because Office 2013 was activated by using ospp.vbs /act or the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT). In these cases, you must restart any Office 2013 applications to complete the activation.

Generic Volume License Keys (GVLKs) for Office 2013

All Office 2013 volume-licensed products have a Generic Volume License Key (GVLK) preinstalled to activate against an Office 2013 KMS host. If you entered a MAK key for a product and you want to change the activation method back to KMS, use the appropriate KMS client GVLK. For more information, see GVLKs for KMS and Active Directory activation of Office 2013. The recommended way to enter the key is by using the Volume Activation Management Tool, VAMT. You can also use ospp.vbs /inpkey to enter the key.

For Office 2013 suites, only one key is required for all the products in the suite. For example, if you use Office Professional Plus, you must enter only the Office Professional Plus 2013 key for the complete suite. For a complete listing of the keys, see GVLKs for KMS and Active Directory activation of Office 2013.

See also

Volume activation of Office 2013
KMS activation of Office 2013
Activate Office 2013 MAK clients