How to Install Office 2016 and 2013 for Mac

Microsoft Office is a Microsoft product family that helps customers with tedious personal and office related work. As time goes by, the roaster of applications offered in the Office suite grew and expanded, as new editions got introduced and became available, high-end editions started to offer more and more while the more affordable versions stuck to the basics. 

 Because Microsoft shares code in-between platforms, Office 2016 and Office 2013 might be older versions of the Office suite, however, they are still solid options for getting the job done.

One thing in every version and on every platform is the same though; you need to go through a process to download and install your applications properly, which can become quite confusing with so many editions being offered along with the various payment methods, the services included and the many applications you need to know how to install properly. 

 Depending on your Office product, follow our guide to download and install Office 2016 and 2013 for Mac programs properly without running into any errors that might require precious time and effort to troubleshoot.

Office 2016 for Mac System Requirements

• Processor: Intel processor
• Memory: 4 GB of RAM
• Hard disk: 6 GB of available hard disk space, HFS+ hard disk format (also known as macOS Extended or HFS Plus)
• Display: 1280 x 800 or higher resolution monitor
• Graphics: Graphics hardware acceleration requires a DirectX 10 graphics card.
• Operating system: Mac OS X version 10.10 or later
• Browser: The current version of Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Chrome, or Firefox.
• Internet functionality requires an Internet connection.

How to Download Office 2016 for Mac

When installing Office 2016 for the first time, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Locate your Product Key

Because some Office for home products include a product key that has to be entered, check for a product key. 

If you bought your copy of Office for home digitally, check your emails or Microsoft account. 

If you bought a retail copy, the product key is usually located inside the DVD case on a bright sticker.  

Some MacBook’s come with Office pre-installed, if yours did, check your documents that came along with your purchase and look for the product key, which is often on a printed on a yellow piece of paper. 

Office product keys consist of 25 alphanumeric characters and look something like the picture below.

If you need help locating your product key, contact Microsoft or your seller for support.

Step 2: Microsoft Account

Navigate to microsoft.com and click on the Sign-in button located at the top right of the website.

You will be redirected to a page where you can enter your Microsoft account details and sign into an already existing account, which will become associated with your copy of Office once you enter your product key later on. 

If you don’t have an account, simply click on the Create one! button. Make sure to create a real account, as you will be using this later to access all of your Office files via cloud-functionality, as well as validating your Office installs.

Step 3: Enter your product key (optional)

Go to office.com/setup in your web browser and if not signed in already with your existing or newly created account, sign in. 

Next, all you have to do is input your product key. Make sure to enter the key properly without using any hyphens, as it will not work even if one character you input differs from your actual key. 

By pressing the Next button, you can continue to validate and redeem your product key, as well as your Office product. 

This also links the Microsoft account you are logged in with your copy of Office, so make sure you are using the correct account.

Note: If your Office 2016 copy was bought through a company Microsoft HUP benefit, you might not be able to download it from office.com/setup. If this is the case, follow Microsoft’s guide on how to install Office through HUP.

Step 4: Download Office

Navigate to the page called Services and subscriptions, then find the Office 2016 product which you want to download and install on your Mac. Once located, simply select the Install button.

Note: You can install Office 2016 on your Mac in a different language or install the 64-bit version. Click on Other options, choose your desired language and bit version then select Install.

This is going to start the download process of Office 2016, which might take a longer amount of time depending on your location and internet connection speed. 

Allow the download to complete before turning off your Mac, as progress will be lost if the download is disrupted.

How to re-install Office 2016 on Mac

Installing Office through Microsoft Account

If your Mac already had Office 2016 installed on it previously, you will already have a Microsoft account associated with your copy of it, which you are required to use in order to validate your installation of Office 2016. 

Follow the steps above to log into this account and re-download a fresh Office 2016 installer onto your Mac. It is required to uninstall your previous Office 2016 before downloading it again.

Can't access your Microsoft Account?

If you forgot which account you associated with your copy of Office 2016, you have some options for retrieving your account and finding the correct login information. 

The options you can use for this depends on which version of Office 2016 you were running on your computer before you decided to reinstall.

Office for Home Users

Username

• You can open a newer Office application and check which username is signed into it to quickly and easily identify the account that is associated with your copy of Office 2016.
• Check your email accounts and look for emails about Office 2016. Each of these emails should include your username, if not, you can use the email itself to log in and identify your username.
• Make sure you are using the correct domain for your accounts, such as @outlook.com, @gmail.com, or @live.com.
• If you forgot your username, try figuring it out via the username hint. Navigate to Microsoft account, then select Forgot username.
  
  

Here, you will be asked to input your email address or phone number that is associated with your Microsoft account. You can select to receive an email, a text or a call from Microsoft that gives you a code that you can use to access a list of usernames associated with the email address or phone number you entered, allowing you to attempt signing in using these usernames.

Password

• You can reset your password, which will send you an email to the address linked with your account that includes a reset link allowing you to change your password to a new one.
• Check if you are using Caps Lock or not. Passwords are case sensitive, meaning that if a capital letter was included in your password, you have to match it when you enter it.
• Clear your browser history, or try to sign in from a different web browser.

If you don’t have access to the email or phone number associated with your account anymore, do not lose hope. Simply ask for a verification code, and select the option that says “I didn’t get a code” then “I don’t have access to these.”

Microsoft Office for Business Users

Your best option is to contact your admin for help. If you already have an Office application installed on your Mac, open it to check your username and contact your admin for support. Additionally, you can also attempt to reset your own password.

How to Install Office 2016 for Mac

Step 1

The moment your download fully finishes; you will be able to begin installing your Office products on your Mac. Open your Finder and go to your Downloads folder, then double-click on the Microsoft_Office_2016_Installer.pkg file. This name may appear slightly different for you.

Note: In some cases, you might encounter an error that displays that the Microsoft Microsoft_Office_2016_Installer.pkg file cannot be opened because it originates from an unidentified developer. If you run into this problem, wait about 10 seconds and move the downloaded file to your desktop by click and drop. Hold the Control key then click the file to launch the installer. If the window is stuck displaying the Verifying… progress bar simply closes the window and try again.

Step 2.

Begin the installation process by clicking on the Continue button on the first screen that opens up after successfully launching the installer file.

Step 3.

Carefully read and review the licensing terms about the Microsoft Office for Mac product you are installing, and simply click the Continue button afterward to proceed to the license agreement screen.

Step 4.

If you agree to the terms of the software license agreement click the Agree button which will allow you to go on with the installation process.

Step 5.

Choose the way you want to install your Office product and click Continue.

Step 6.

Check if your Mac meets the required minimum disk space in the default Office install location. If you want to or need to, you can change the install location and click the Install button to begin the process. If you only want to install specific Office applications and not the entirety of the suite, simply click the Customize button and uncheck any of the apps you do not wish to install on your Mac.

Step 7.

If prompted, enter your Mac password. This is the password you use for your Mac user, not your Microsoft account password. When done, click on the Install software button.

Step 8.

When your installation is complete, click the Close button. You can start enjoying your Microsoft Office suite on your Mac now!

How to Validate Office 2016 for Mac

Step 1.

First, we need to launch an Office application to begin the activation process. Click the Launchpad icon located in your Dock to display all of your applications, including the newly installed Office 2016 apps.

You can also use the Search function in the top right corner of your screen to type in the name of an application you installed (for example Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel etc.) 

Step 2.

Click on the icon of the application to launch it.

Step 3.

If all is well, you should be met with a What’s new screen displaying some of the new key features that can be found in the Office 2016 for Mac release of your application. 

On this screen, simply click on the Get started button and follow the on-screen instructions to activate your Office 2016 apps.

Microsoft Office 2013 for Mac

Even when it was new, Microsoft announced that Office 2013 is and will not be available to be installed on a Mac device. 

With support for installing Office 2013 for PC and Office 2011 for Mac via the Office 365 subscription benefits being canceled by Microsoft, there is no hope left for a release that would bring the older Office 2013 to Mac operating systems.

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