Locked 2011 MS Office for Mac - El Capitan

[morganbach]

Morning all, (New to this forum, so hope am doing this right?)

I recently replaced the SSD and have been through the loop of only viewing Office files without new product key and MS being unwilling to provide a new one. I'm on a early 2008 imac running El Capitan 10.11.6 and have stopped rolling this OS forward as have began losing programs but broadly works very well as a base home computer. (In time I will save and give in to a new Mac although is killing me as the hardware and OS run fine and just need to fix the access at present, not change platform, hardware or product ... yet).

I am struggling to get advice beyond: -
- getting a new computer I can't afford
- buying a new license and upgrade for the latest version my Mac will run 2016 for less than perhaps £100/$125 (with mixed reviews on safety and seemingly only code turn up rather than installation box)
- switching to a different product and mogration headache I don't have time for at present

Am I just best 'buying' a new product key from somewhere for the 2011 version which largely worked fine; and can anyone recommend a safe and 'reasonable' source for this (Can only find 2016 and a boat load of warnings of fake or virus products)?

This is for Outlook, excel & Word

Any time and views on the above would be greatly appreciated.
Jon
El Capitan 10.11.6
Mac (20-inch, Early 2008)
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 128 MB

 

[pm-r]

(In time I will save and give in to a new Mac although is killing me as the hardware and OS run fine and just need to fix the access at present, not change platform, hardware or product ... yet).

What is wrong or not working with your current setup???

Our old 2007 24in iMac is doing Yeoman service for my wife, and the 2011 Mac stand-alone MS Office Suite, at least its Word application is still working well as far as I know.

For other applications you have or need to use maybe check out later versions and their compatibility at such sites as:

Application compatibility & feature support for macOS, iOS & Windows — RoaringApps

Crowd-sourced application compatibility for macOS, iOS and Windows.

roaringapps.com

and

Compatibility checker Mac app — RoaringApps

Download the RoaringApps Mac app

roaringapps.com

For more up-to-date browsers, I would suggest Firefox or Google Chrome.

I would be surprised if you need all the features that a new Mac and its newer Mac OS version could provide, but I may be wrong, and your bank balance seems to dictate whether that is an option or not anyway.

IMHO, Apple's "New and Improved" Macs, applications and features don't necessarily mean one actually needs or can even use most or all of them.

And welcome to the mac-forums forums.



- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

As far as MS Office is concerned and buying a license - have you looked at the various non-MS Office suites for the Mac that are either free or very low cost?
They all open existing MS Office files and can create new ones or modify existing ones.

 

[Jimmysb]

Why do you need a new MS Office license, certainly on Windows, you can install office as often as you like, as long as it is only a single installation is operational. I.e. wipe and reinstall, and apply the key.

 

[Rod]

Welcome to these Forums first off. The product key you mention should be available from Microsoft account | Sign In or Create Your Account Today – Microsoft
I'm making the assumption that you have a MS account since you must have registered the Office for MacOS product some time in the past.
On the above linked site you can login and go to Services and Subscriptions and you should see all your "Products you have purchased" near the bottom. Clicking the "down" arrow on any one will reveal both the Product (CD) Key and the option to download again.
In my case I can see MS Office for MacOS 2011, 2012, 2016 and the current Office Home & Business 2021.

 

[morganbach]

Hi all, thanks for the views. Perhaps I should have set out a few things I've taken for granted.

Office for mac 2011 product key code is limited and no longer works for 2011 on the automated installation process. The activation line won't provide a new one as they 'no longer support it' (have tried 4-5 times, they just cut the call off). So, Office becomes locked after viewing a few times of viewing. Its a well established problem MS have little interest in and cannot generate a key via user names. They simply suggest updating your OS to a supported version (ca 2019) which my hardware can't run and makes a bank of programs and their files unusable as not supported any longer, even if the mac did manage to run it.

New Office products are in the same boat up to 2019 (which my OS can't run without later OS)

So to be a little clearer I'm struggling to get my 2011 (or a newer 2016) unlocked at present, but am aware there are many companies (and likely tens of thousands of mac users that have purchased a new key to at leat get the existing functioning again without migrating all of my e-mails, documents and setting.

I'm just hoping someone who's done this can give me a reliable source as reviews suggest there are loads of 'dodgy' or fake keys and products out there ...

Thanks again

 

[pm-r]

The activation line won't provide a new one as they 'no longer support it' (have tried 4-5 times, they just cut the call off). So, Office becomes locked after viewing a few times of viewing. Its a well established problem MS have little interest in and cannot generate a key via user names.

Hmmm...??? I guess we must have a different version of Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac (ie: Word v. 14.7.7) as they just work with the registration number and our name we were provided in the beginning many years ago on my wife's and my iMacs and they still work well on our 2007 and 2011 iMacs both running Mac OS X 10.11.x El Capitan.

There was certainly never any installation or registration phone call needed or required. Just run the installer as I recall and then enter the proper registration name and number that was provided.

So I'm assuming your situation is a bit different, as is your installed version of Microsoft Office 2011.

Do you still have the Microsoft Office 2011 installer available anywhere that you could use to reinstall it???


EDIT:
If your version of MS Word just will not work properly for you, why not just trash it and use one of the free equivalent Word replacement applications that many have suggested and recommended???

That should save you and your wife a lot of hassles...



- Patrick
=======

 

[Jimmysb]

Hmmm...??? I guess we must have a different version of Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac (ie: Word v. 14.7.7) as they just work with the registration number and our name we were provided in the beginning many years ago on my wife's and my iMacs and they still work well on our 2007 and 2011 iMacs both running Mac OS X 10.11.x El Capitan.

There was certainly never any installation or registration phone call needed or required. Just run the installer as I recall and then enter the proper registration name and number that was provided.

So I'm assuming your situation is a bit different, as is your installed version of Microsoft Office 2011.

Do you still have the Microsoft Office 2011 installer available anywhere that you could use to reinstall it???


EDIT:
If your version of MS Word just will not work properly for you, why not just trash it and use one of the free equivalent Word replacement applications that many have suggested and recommended???

That should save you and your wife a lot of hassles...



- Patrick
=======

Though I do not have any MS Office for Mac, I have all the way back to 2003 for Windows, and each comes with a 16 digit code, no name just enter the code when requested.

 

[morganbach]

Thanks folks, I think this is a licensing thing. It was a home and office version for UK. Its worked perfectly until SSD died, on installing it in 2023, the codes (of either copy I have) don't work.This may be a recent development but many people are finding the activations codes no longer work.

Just found this which sums it up MS Office 2011 activation - won't work af… - Apple Community.

Ultimately I may have to migrate, but would happily pay for reliable key to open these for now, especially Outlook. Sure I'll find some lengthy workarounds like web mail and new processing packages, it's just more than I need at present.
Thanks regardless genuinely everyone

 

[pm-r]

Just found this which sums it up MS Office 2011 activation - won't work af… - Apple Community.

I cannot say I can agree with all the comments as to the reasons why MS Office 2011 not run on older Macs, or after replacing one's hard drive with a solid state drive, as I have done both and all the MS office 2011 applications run as they always have done in my registration has stayed intact, maybe it's because I was still running Mavericks and just recently changed and updated to running OS X 10.11: El Capitan:




Do you still have an older Mac OS X version you could boot into and try installing Microsoft Office 2011 using your old registration again???



- Patrick
=======

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Ultimately I may have to migrate, but would happily pay for reliable key to open these for now, especially Outlook.

Microsoft Office has copy protection. If you move it from one computer to another, you are likely to find that it stops working. If you have any sort of proof that you actually own the copy that you are using (the serial number that it came with will do), you can call Microsoft and they will happily give you a code to re-activate it.

If the above won't work for you, you can try this free Microsoft Office clone that is so much like MS Office that some users can't even tell the difference:

FreeOffice (free)
https://www.freeoffice.com/en/

If for some odd reason the above isn't sufficient for your needs, you can currently get a full version of Microsoft Office for the Mac, no subscription required, for only $25:

Office 2021 Home and Business Lifetime License Key – For MacOS
$25
https://www.joywarp.com/product/office-2021-home-and-business-lifetime-license-key-for-macos/

(It is called "Office 2021", but don't be put off, that actually is the latest stand-alone Macintosh version.)

This deal sounds too good to be true, but a bunch of folks from my Mac User Group have purchased it, and they all report that it's the real deal.

 

[krs]

If for some odd reason the above isn't sufficient for your needs, you can currently get a full version of Microsoft Office for the Mac, no subscription required, for only $25:

Office 2021 Home and Business Lifetime License Key – For MacOS
$25
Office 2021 Home and Business Lifetime License Key – For MacOs

(It is called "Office 2021", but don't be put off, that actually is the latest stand-alone Macintosh version.)

This deal sounds too good to be true, but a bunch of folks from my Mac User Group have purchased it, and they all report that it's the real deal.

Sounds great.
But that version of MS Office isn't supported on the OP's hardware.
I was interested to get this software myself, but it's not supported on a 2012 Mini either.

 

[krs]

If the above won't work for you, you can try this free Microsoft Office clone that is so much like MS Office that some users can't even tell the difference:

FreeOffice (free)
FreeOffice: The best free alternative to Microsoft Office

If for some odd reason the above isn't sufficient for your needs...........

Seems to me the OP needs Outlook which is not part of "Free Office"

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Sounds great.
But that version of MS Office isn't supported on the OP's hardware.

Good point, I hadn't noticed that. If FreeOffice doesn't meet his needs (and it may not work on that old a version of the Mac OS), he likely needs to purchase a used older copy of MS Office on eBay.

I was interested to get this software myself, but it's not supported on a 2012 Mini either.

Microsoft doesn't make MS Office to run with particular years or models of Macs. They support ALL Macs running particular versions of the Mac OS.

Technically Microsoft only "supports" (read: gives technical support for, and maybe offers upgrades) the last three versions of the Macintosh OS. However, Office 2021 has been around for a good while, and at one time or another it has been sold as working with a bunch of different past versions of the Mac OS.

I don't know what version of the Mac OS you are running. I do know that a 2012 mini can run up to macOS 10.15 (Catalina), and Office 2021 should run very nicely under Catalina.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Seems to me the OP needs Outlook which is not part of "Free Office"

If he specifically needs Outlook, and he won't accept anything else, then only MS Office will do, and only the version of MS Office that will run on El Capitan at that.

However, he can instead use any other e-mail client. He can likely mostly seamlessly move to the online version of Outlook, which is free.

https://outlook.live.com

He can also move to Apple's Mail, and how difficult that is will depend on the type of e-mail account(s) he has and how much of a power user he is. If he has all IMAP accounts, and he hasn't set up any rules or macros, it will be a breeze.

 

[krs]

Microsoft doesn't make MS Office to run with particular years or models of Macs. They support ALL Macs running particular versions of the Mac OS.

I was looking at the system requirements at the MS Office link you posted.
That only shows Mac models, no macOS requirements.
Compatibility with Mini is listed from 2014 onward - thus my comment.
I suppose I could just spend the $25.- and find out if it works on my 2012 Mini running Mojave.

Technically Microsoft only "supports" (read: gives technical support for, and maybe offers upgrades) the last three versions of the Macintosh OS.

Yes, I understand that technical support.
Just struck me that a 2014 Mini is listed as supported which is way more than three releases, so I assume that this is "supported" as in "compatible with"

I don't know what version of the Mac OS you are running. I do know that a 2012 mini can run up to macOS 10.15 (Catalina), and Office 2021 should run very nicely under Catalina.

I'm running 10.14 because I need to run some 32-bit applications that will never be available as 64-bit.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I was looking at the system requirements at the MS Office link you posted.
That only shows Mac models, no macOS requirements.

The Microsoft page that lists compatibility for MS Office 2021 is here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mic...stemrequirements&rtc=1#coreui-heading-5dcqxz4

"macOS: Office for Mac is supported on the three most recent versions of macOS. As new major versions of macOS are made generally available, Microsoft will drop support for the oldest version and support the newest and previous two versions of macOS. Product functionality and feature availability may vary on older systems. For the best experience, use the latest version of any operating system specified above."

So, they only officially, at this time, support back to OS 11 (Big Sur). But I know for sure that MS Office 2021 was previously marketed as compatible with at least as far back as Mojave.

The cited page does offer other specs that are requirements, such as GPU. But it doesn't get into specific models.

I'm running 10.14 because I need to run some 32-bit applications that will never be available as 64-bit.

I understand; I'm doing the same.

MS Office 2021 was and is compatible with Mojave. You can't get any of the security updates that came later, but I doubt that you are missing anything:

https://www.windowscentral.com/using-office-2021-macos-1014-or-older-bad-news

 

[pine man]

Office 2021 should run very nicely under Catalina.

I don't know about the Standalone version of Office but I have recently dumped my Office 365 account as it stopped updating on my wife's 2013 iMac running Catalina.

We both used to use Outlook but have had no problems moving to Apple Mail and, similarly, with Office apps, all have been replaced with the Apple apps and no 'ill effects'.

 

[morganbach]

Dear all,
I stopped checking this thread thinking it had tailed off and now have more options than I can compute at present! Thank you very much.

Yes in short my 2009 wil not run a late enough OS for any current or supported Office versions, and your product key on 2011 for mac tethers to a computer ID. As soon as I changed my HD, it read it as another computer and won't work. It unfortunately is now fact that MS will not service or provide new keys for outlook 2011 (although they used to).

So I will migrate in time, but for now I will look at the options for Outlook online and freeoffice which sounds as though they will be more than a reasonable sticking plasters until I find a next generation permanant fix.

So thank you all very much for the advice, and ... I don't suppose anyone can recommend a similar browser for 10.11.6 (El Capitan) from which I cannot role fwd.? Each one I have is fortelling the end of the world if I visit everyday sites (because they are so out of date).
(just asking)
;o)

 

[Randy B. Singer]

... I don't suppose anyone can recommend a similar browser for 10.11.6 (El Capitan) from which I cannot role fwd.? Each one I have is fortelling the end of the world if I visit everyday sites (because they are so out of date).

I can suggest something that is fairly modern, yes. Firefox is a very good, free browser. They make all of their past versions available for download. Firefox supported El Capitan for a good while before they dropped support for it in more recent versions. So, the thing to do is to go to their archive and download the very last version of Firefox the will work with OS X10.11. I believe that the version that you want is "Firefox 78.12.0esr".

You can download it from this Web page:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/