Your Account Doesn't Allow Editing on a Mac (Office Error)

Environment

• macOS / OS X and macOS tablets
• Microsoft 365, Office productivity apps

Issue

How do I fix the following error?: "Your account [uniqname]@umich.edu can view documents, but it doesn't allow editing on a Mac. To edit, use another account to activate Office. Learn more, contact your admin about your Office plan." (The error message might be titled "Ready to View Documents")

Note: Microsoft Office 365 now requires users to log in to activate and use the applications, whereas older versions of Microsoft Office do not. 

Resolution

Note: U-M Microsoft 365 licensing applies to active students, staff, faculty, and sponsored affiliates. It does not include alumni or retirees.

Desktop

In the desktop app for a Microsoft Office 365 product (e.g., Word, Excel, etc.), the following error message will appear as a banner across the top of the app window: "Your account [uniqname]@umich.edu can view documents, but it doesn't allow editing on a Mac. To edit, use another account to activate Office. Learn more, contact your admin about your Office plan."

To restore functionality, try the following steps:

1. Click the Use Another Account button on the far right side of that banner.
2. Enter your full email address (uniqname@umich.edu) and UMICH password when asked for your login credentials.
   1. You should do this even if you are "already signed in" using those credentials.
3. Doing this should cause the software to activate, and functionality should be restored from there, allowing you to edit documents per normal.

If the above steps do not solve your issue, run the 'Office 365 License Removal Tool' in the Utilities tab of Service Provider Support (/Applications/Utilities/Service Provider Support), then log in with your full email address and UMICH password. 

You can also try the following steps in the Microsoft Support article to run the Microsoft License Removal tool, and then try activating Microsoft 365 again. (Note that you can try this troubleshooting even if you don't receive the "An unknown error has occurred, the error code is: 0xD000FFFE" error.)

Mobile

In the mobile application for a Microsoft 365 product (e.g., Word, Excel, etc.), try the following to restore functionality:

1. Tap Account and tap the account you're using in any Microsoft Office 365 app.
2. Tap Sign Out and tap Sign Out again to confirm.
3. Close all Microsoft Office 365 apps.
4. Open the app again and sign in using your full email address (uniqname@umich.edu) and UMICH password.

If the above steps do not solve your issue, try the following steps in the Microsoft Support article to run the Microsoft License Removal tool, and then try activating Microsoft 365 again. (Note that you can try this troubleshooting even if you don't receive the "An unknown error has occurred, the error code is: 0xD000FFFE" error.)

Additional troubleshooting

If the above does not help, or different errors or behaviors occur:

• If you get an error message: "An unknown error has occurred, the error code is: 0xD000FFFE", follow the steps in the following Microsoft knowledge base article to run the Microsoft License Removal tool, and then try activating Office 365 again: https://support.office.com/en-ie/article/error-0xd000000c-when-activating-office-for-mac-da865931-4658-4829-ba2d-8133390c6d25
• Microsoft 365 requires your UMICH password to be synced to our Active Directory system.
  • You can try resetting your UMICH password and wait 20-30 minutes before logging in again.

Additional Information

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.