How do I install Office 365 using Device Based Activation?

Microsoft has recently changed how Windows devices need to license Office 365 installations on a per-device basis, now called Device-Based Activation. These are the instructions to deploy Office to allow for licensing via device based activation.

Prerequisites for Device-Based Activation Licensing

  • Version 1803 or Later of Windows 10.
  • The device must be Hybrid Azure Active Directory joined.
  • Windows 1907 or later of Office 365 ProPlus.

First, make sure your devices are at least Windows 10 1803.

  • Open powershell or command prompt on the device and type "winver" to get the version information.

OR

  • Open Settings > System > About and scroll to the "Windows specifications" section.

Next, please make sure your devices are hybrid Azure AD joined. For more information on that please see the following knowledge base articles:

Finally, deploy the latest version of Office ProPlus using Device Licensing as the licensing method.

If you are using the Endpoint Management service, the newest Office ProPlus installers within SCCM allow you to utilize this new licensing method. Navigate to the folders under Microsoft Office in the Shared Application section of the Administration Console.

If you are not utilizing the Endpoint Management service, you will need to create your own installer using the instructions below.

NOTE: There are two ways to host your source files for installing Office 365: MS Cloud and Local. Local allows your devices to utilize the same content within the UIC network without having to redownload all the installation files. Cloud deployments will download the content directly from Microsoft each time the installation is run.

Create Your Own Office 365 Installer (Cloud)

  1. Download the Office Deployment Tool.
    1. Run the self-extracting executable.
    2. Place extracted files into a shared folder that can be accessed by your devices.
  2. Create a configuration file.
    1. Navigate to the Office Configuration Tool in a web browser.
    2. Scroll down and click the Create button.
    3. Proceed through the wizard to customize your installation.
      1. Refer to Microsoft's documentation for more information on the available settings.
      2. In the "Products and Releases" section, leave "Latest" selected in the "Which version do you want to deploy?" drop down menu.
      3. In the "Installation" section, leave "Office Content Delivery Network (CDN)" selected.
      4. In the "Licensing and activation" section, select the radio button for "Device based".
    4. When you're done customizing, click on the "Export" button.
    5. Move configuration file into the same location as the Office Deployment Tool you downloaded in step 2.
  3. Deploy/Install on a device.
    1. From an Administrator command prompt on the device you want it installed on, run the Office Deployment Tool in configure mode.

\\PATH-To-SETUP\setup.exe /configure \\PATH-TO-CONFIG\config.xml

  1. If you selected that the installation is silent, then you can look in the task manager for the Click-to-Run executable running.
  2. The process takes some time.

Create Your Own Office 365 Installer (Local)

  1. Create shared folders to host content that can be accessed by your devices.
    1. Create a folder that can store your files.
    2. Create a folder to store your Office Deployment Tool and configuration file that specifies how to download and deploy Office.
  2. Download the Office Deployment Tool.
    1. Run the self-extracting executable.
    2. Place extracted files into the folder mentioned in step 1b.
  3. Create a configuration file.
    1. Navigate to the Office Configuration Tool in a web browser.
    2. Scroll down and click the Create button.
    3. Proceed through the wizard to customize your installation.
      1. Refer to Microsoft's documentation for more information on the available settings.
      2. In the "Products and Releases" section, in the "Which version do you want to deploy?" drop down menu you can choose a specific version or leave "Latest" selected. The version that will install is the one that is downloaded when you download the files to your local folder.
      3. In the "Installation" section, select "Local Source" and enter the path for the folder created in 1a.
      4. In the "Licensing and activation" section, select the radio button for "Device based".
    4. When you're done customizing, click on the "Export" button.
    5. Move configuration file into the folder you created in step 1b.
  4. Download installation files to shared folder.
    1. From a command prompt, run the Office Deployment Tool in download mode, the path should be the folder from step 1b.

\\PATH-To-SETUP\setup.exe /download \\PATH-TO-CONFIG\config.xml

  1. After the command runs, the downloaded files should now appear in the folder created in step 1a. If the files are not, please verify that you typed the source correctly in the config. You can modify the config file using a text editor, or re-export one with the correct settings.
  2. This will take some time, depending on network download speed. The source files for Office 365 comes to about 2.5 GB, but can vary depending on your application install settings.
  1. Deploy/Install on a device.
    1. From an Administrator command prompt on the device you want it installed on, run the Office Deployment Tool in configure mode, the path should be the folder from step 1b.

\\PATH-To-SETUP\setup.exe /configure \\PATH-TO-CONFIG\config.xml

  1. If you specified that the installation run silently, then you can look in the task manager for the Click-to-Run executable running.
  2. The process takes some time.

Verify Device is Obtaining A License

  1. Log onto device.
  2. Launch a Microsoft Office application, like Word or Excel.
  3. Click on Account.
  4. Under Product Information, it should say the following:

Belongs to: This device
 

Office Product Information screen

Potential Issue: Microsoft Teams not Installing

Microsoft Teams installs per user. When you install Office 365 with Teams included, the installer drops the Microsoft Teams installer in this folder: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Teams Installer".

When a new user signs on, it will install Microsoft Teams for them. On an account that is not new, the Installer will need to be run to force it to install. You can either double click the teams.exe file in that folder or you can execute it silently thourgh a script or the command prompt by running the following command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Teams Installer\Teams.exe" /s

All information was obtained from Microsoft's official documentation.

If you experience any issues with licensing Office with Device Based Activation, please submit an Endpoint Management support request.

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