Office KMS Activation

Problem:

• Office fails to activate for the user against the Key Management Service (KMS)

Environment:

• Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
• Office 2010, 2013 and 2016

Resolution:

• Run a command prompt as an administrator
  • Locate the Office installation folder
    • cd “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office##”
      • 32-bit installations on 64-bit operating systems (most common)
      • Tab completion is your friend
    • cd “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office##”
      • 64-bit installations
      • 32-bit operating systems will only have c:\program files\
    • ## will represent the version of Office
      • Office14 = Office 2010
      • Office15 = Office 2013
      • Office16 = Office 2016
    • You will be in the correct folder when you find a file called ospp.vbs
      • Run dir ospp.vbs
  • Check the activation status
    • From the command prompt in the Office installation directory, run
      • cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
        • Check LICENSED STATUS: line
  • Set the KMS server and port
    • Default KMS server should be dc1.win.uthscsa.edu
      • Run the following two commands
        • cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:dc1.win.uthscsa.edu
        • cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1688
  • Activate Office
    • Run the following command
      • cscript ospp.vbs /act
    • You should receive a <Product activation successful> for each Office product activated.
      • If it fails, you can try other KMS servers
        • dc2.win.uthscsa.edu 
        • dc2v.win.uthscsa.edu
          • KMS port should always be 1688
    • Checking the DNS for KMS servers
      • Run the following command
        • nslookup -type=SRV _vlmcs._tcp.win.uthscsa.edu

Cause:

• The KMS servers may be changed from time to time. Sometimes it is necessary to manually change them.

Additional notes:

• There is a canned script in Bomgar that will automate this process for you