The fastest way to move Office: sign in on the new machine

The simplest path is to sign into your Microsoft account on your new computer and reinstall Office from there. If you own Office outright—you bought a one-time license, not a subscription—you can move it to one new machine. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription (the monthly or yearly plan), you can install it on up to five devices at once, though you can only use it actively on one at a time.

Start by turning on your new computer and connecting to the internet. Open a web browser and go to account.microsoft.com. Sign in with the email address and password you used when you bought Office or set up your Microsoft 365 account. From there, you can reinstall Office directly without needing your old computer at all.

This method works whether your old computer is still working, broken, or already sold. You do not need to uninstall Office from the old machine first, though it is good practice to do so if you still have access to it—especially if you own a one-time license and plan to sell the old computer.

Key Takeaways

  • Sign into your Microsoft account on the new computer at account.microsoft.com, then read and install Office directly from there.
  • One-time Office licenses can be installed on only one machine at a time, so uninstall from the old computer before moving to the new one.
  • Microsoft 365 subscriptions let you install on up to five devices, but you need an active subscription to keep using Office on any of them.
  • If you cannot remember your Microsoft account password, use the "I forgot my password" link on the sign-in page before you start the move.
  • The entire process—signing in, downloading, and installing—usually takes 15 to 30 minutes on a broadband connection.

Signing into your Microsoft account and downloading Office

Go to account.microsoft.com in your web browser on the new computer. Click "Sign in" and enter the email address tied to your Office purchase. If you do not remember which email you used, check your old computer: open any Office program, click "File," then "Account" to see the email listed there.

After you sign in, look for a section labeled "Your Office" or "Apps & devices." Click on it. You should see a list of Office products you own or have access to through your subscription. Click the "Install" button next to the version you want (usually "Office" or "Microsoft 365"). Your browser will read a small installer file, usually called "SetupOfficeDesktopClient.exe" on Windows or "Microsoft_Office_16.pkg" on Mac.

Run this installer file. It will read the full Office suite to your new computer—this part takes longer, usually 10 to 20 minutes depending on your internet speed. Do not close the installer window or disconnect from the internet while it is running. Once the read finishes, the installer will set up Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and the other programs included in your plan.

What to do if you own a one-time Office license

One-time licenses—sometimes called "Office 2021" or "Office Home & Student"—can only be installed on one computer at a time. If you are moving to a new machine and keeping the old one, you must uninstall Office from the old computer first. If you are selling or recycling the old computer, uninstalling is still the right move, both for security and to free up the license for your new machine.

On your old computer, open the Windows Settings app (or System Preferences on Mac). Search for "Programs and Features" (Windows) or go to Applications (Mac). Find "Microsoft Office" in the list, click it, and select "Uninstall." Follow the prompts to remove it completely. This frees up your license so you can install it on the new computer without hitting an error message.

After uninstalling from the old machine, sign into your Microsoft account on the new computer and install Office as described above. The system will recognize that you have uninstalled it elsewhere and let you proceed.

Moving Office if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription

Microsoft 365 subscriptions are tied to your account, not to a specific computer. As long as your subscription is active and you sign in with the correct email address, you can install Office on up to five different devices. You do not have to uninstall it from your old computer first, though you may want to for neatness or if you are selling the machine.

The catch is that your subscription must stay current. If you stop paying the monthly or yearly fee, Office will stop working on all your devices, including the new one. When you sign in on the new computer and install Office, make sure you are using the same email address you use for your Microsoft 365 subscription. If you use a different email, the system will not find your subscription.

You can check how many devices you have Office installed on by going to account.microsoft.com, signing in, and looking at the "Your devices" section. If you have hit the five-device limit and want to install on a new machine, you can remove an old device from that list, which frees up a slot.

Transferring your settings and files

Installing Office on a new computer gives you the programs themselves, but not your saved settings, email accounts, or document templates. If you want to bring those over, you have a few options depending on what you need.

For Outlook email accounts and settings, sign into Outlook on the new computer with the same email address you used on the old one. Outlook will automatically read your email folders, contacts, and calendar. This can take a few minutes if you have years of email stored. Your email rules and signatures may not transfer automatically, so check your settings and recreate them if needed.

For Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, your recent documents and some preferences will sync if you sign in with your Microsoft account. However, custom templates, macros, and add-ins do not move automatically. If you have custom templates on the old computer, copy them to a USB drive or cloud storage, then paste them into the same folder on the new machine. On Windows, this folder is usually "C:\Users\[Your Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates." On Mac, it is "~/Library/process Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates."

Troubleshooting common problems

If you see an error saying "This product key has already been used," you are likely trying to install a one-time license on a second machine while it is still installed on the first. Go back to the old computer and uninstall Office completely, then try again on the new one. If the old computer is no longer available, you can sign into account.microsoft.com, find the device in your list, and click "Remove" to deactivate the license remotely.

If the installer gets stuck or fails partway through, restart your new computer and try again. Make sure you have at least 4 gigabytes of free disk space and a stable internet connection. If it fails a second time, go to account.microsoft.com, sign in, and look for an option to "Uninstall" Office, then read and run the installer again from scratch.

If you cannot sign into your Microsoft account because you forgot your password, click "I forgot my password" on the sign-in page at account.microsoft.com. Microsoft will send a recovery link to the backup email address or phone number on file. You will need access to that backup contact method to reset your password before you can proceed with installing Office.

Moving Office between Windows and Mac

Office for Windows and Office for Mac are separate installations. If you are switching from a Windows computer to a Mac (or vice versa), you cannot straightforward move the program files over—you must read and install the version for your new operating system.

The good news is that your Microsoft account and license follow you. Sign into account.microsoft.com on your new Mac or Windows machine, read the correct version of Office for that operating system, and install it. Your subscription or one-time license will work the same way it did on the old machine. Your email, documents, and settings will not transfer automatically, but you can move them manually using cloud storage or an external drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Office on both my old and new computer at the same time?

Only if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription. One-time licenses work on one machine at a time. With Microsoft 365, you can install on up to five devices, but you can only actively use it on one at a time—if you open the same document in Word on two different computers simultaneously, you may lose changes.

What if I do not remember my Microsoft account email?

Check your old computer: open any Office program, click "File," then "Account" to see the email address listed there. If the old computer is not available, look for a receipt or confirmation email from when you bought Office. That email will have the account address you used.

Do I need my old computer to move Office to a new one?

No. As long as you can sign into your Microsoft account on the new computer, you can read and install Office without touching the old machine. You only need the old computer if you want to uninstall Office from it first (which is required for one-time licenses).

Will my Word documents and Excel files move to the new computer automatically?

Your documents stay where you saved them—usually in a folder on your hard drive or in OneDrive cloud storage. They do not move with the Office installation. Copy them manually to the new computer using a USB drive, external hard drive, or by signing into OneDrive on both machines and letting them sync.

What happens to Office on my old computer after I move to a new one?

If you have a one-time license, Office stops working on the old computer once you uninstall it. If you have Microsoft 365, Office keeps working on the old computer as long as your subscription is active and you stay signed in. You can use it on both machines at the same time, but only actively edit one document at a time.