Office 2013 Retail License Agreement Now Transferable: What You Need to Know
For many years, the license agreement for Microsoft Office 2013 prevented users from transferring their license to a new computer. This meant that if you bought Office 2013 and then upgraded your computer, you were forced to buy a new copy of Office. However, Microsoft has recently changed this policy, and now allows users to transfer their Office 2013 license between computers. Here`s what you need to know about this new policy.
Why Did Microsoft Change the Policy?
For many years, Microsoft`s policy was to prevent users from transferring their Office licenses between computers in order to prevent piracy. However, this policy was unpopular among users, as it meant that they had to purchase a new copy of Office every time they upgraded their computer. In response to these complaints, Microsoft announced in early 2013 that it would allow users to transfer their Office licenses more easily.
How Does the New Policy Work?
Under the new policy, users can transfer their Office 2013 license to a new computer as long as the license is completely removed from the old computer. This means that you need to uninstall Office from the old computer before you install it on the new one. Microsoft has provided detailed instructions for how to remove your Office license from your old computer, which you can find on their website.
Once you`ve removed your license from the old computer, you can install Office on your new computer and activate it using the same product key. Note that you can only transfer your license once every 90 days, so you can`t keep transferring your license back and forth between computers.
What About Office 365?
It`s worth noting that this policy only applies to Office 2013 retail licenses, not to Office 365 subscriptions. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can install and activate Office on up to five computers at once, but you can`t transfer your license between computers in the same way as with a retail license. If you want to move your Office 365 subscription to a new computer, you need to sign in with your Microsoft account and deactivate Office on the old computer before you activate it on the new one.
Conclusion
Microsoft`s decision to allow users to transfer their Office 2013 licenses more easily is a welcome change for many users. If you`re planning to upgrade your computer, you can now move your Office license to your new machine without having to purchase a new copy of the software. Just be sure to follow Microsoft`s instructions for removing your license from your old computer before you install it on the new one.