Office365 Personal - confusing information.

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kiwifidget

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#254354 8-Aug-2019 13:53

Hi, I am looking at recommending to a friend (no really I am, I already have Office365 Home) that they buy Office365 Personal to replace their very outdated copy of Office2007.

According to this : https://products.office.com/en-nz/compare-all-microsoft-office-products?&activetab=tab%3aprimaryr1
Office365 Personal is for 1 user on multiple PC's, yay perfect, they have a computer and a laptop, both Win10.

But when I search Pricespy for the best offer today I see this: https://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=2614987
The picture of the box clearly says 1 PC/Mac + 1 tablet.

Can anyone clarify for me please? Thank you.

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gehenna

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#2292302 8-Aug-2019 13:59

1x user, installed on up to 5x devices.

wazzageek

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#2292303 8-Aug-2019 14:00

Office365 home provides for installation of the apps on up to 6 PC’s or Macs (Note this is more expensive of the two)

Office365 Personal is for a single person, and installed apps on 1 PC or Mac, with allowance for a tablet as well.

Note that these are annual subscriptions as well - so need to top up each year.

gehenna

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#2292306 8-Aug-2019 14:01

Actually my bad, they've changed it. Probably just haven't updated the packaging in the screenshot you viewed. https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17800472/microsoft-office-365-home-device-limits

wazzageek

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#2292309 8-Aug-2019 14:04

Actually - the OP is right - going through the online literature, one can see that it clearly states “multiple machines” - further down the same page:

Multiple PCs/Macs, tablets, and phones, including Windows, iOS, and Android5

I suspect that there will be something that checks (either via the MS Account or broadcasting on the local network) to ensure that you’re only using one copy of the software at a time.

I’d suggest using the online chat - Microsoft’s support lines are usually brilliant.

kiwifidget

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#2292311 8-Aug-2019 14:08

So it is confusing then.

Thank you, I will give the online chat a try, once I find a link for it.

Edit : found a link! :)

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kiwifidget

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#2292348 8-Aug-2019 14:32

So here is how the chat went:

The following is a record of your online chat.

General Info

Chat start time Thu, 8 Aug 2019 02:09:01 +1200 GMT

Chat end time Thu, 8 Aug 2019 02:24:12 +1200 GMT

Duration (actual chatting time) 00:15:10

Operator Zoey

Chat Transcript

Info: Thank you for contacting Microsoft. An agent will be with you shortly. You are currently 1 in line.

Info: Privacy Statement <http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=267510&clcid=0x409>

Want a copy of this chat emailed to you? Click on the (+) button below.

You are now chatting with Zoey.

Zoey: Thank you for contacting Microsoft Store. This is Zoey, may I please have your name And phone number in case we got disconnected I can call you back?

You: My name is DELETED, and my phone number is DELETED.

Zoey: Nice to meet you DELETED. how may I help you today?

You: I have a query regarding Office365 Personal.

You: Probably more than 1 query.

Zoey: Thank you for your interest in our Microsoft Office 365 Personal.

Zoey: How may I help you today?

You: Does the license allow for it to be installed on both a Windows10 PC and a Windows10 laptop, owned by the same person?

Zoey: Yes, Office 365 Personal can be installed into 5 devices at the same time.

You: That is good news. Are there any restrictions? Is concurrent device use allowed?

Zoey: You can download it in mac, windows computer, phones, and tablets'

You: that does not answer my question

Zoey: You can download it at the same time

You: can you use all the installed devices at the same time?

Zoey: Yes

You: So if it is installed on a PC and a laptop, the user is allowed to have Office365 open and being used on both at the same time?

Zoey: Yes, that is correct

You: OK, thank you, it looks like Office365 Personal is the software I am looking for then.

Zoey: Great. Do you want me to process the order on your behalf?

You: No thank you, I can do that myself.

Zoey: no worries.

Zoey: Aside from this, would there be anything else that I can help you with?

You: No worries, that sounds like something an Australian or New Zealander would say.

Zoey: Actually, we are from the Philippines, supporting New Zealand and Australia costumers

You: I guess you picked it up from them then :) That is all I require today thank you.

Zoey: My pleasure helping you. If you need further assistance or you have some question that you forgot to ask, please do not hesitate to chat us back.

Zoey: Once again, this is Zoey. Thank you for visiting Microsoft, have a good one.

You: Thank you Zoey.

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1101

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#2292427 8-Aug-2019 16:47

Office365 : multiple installs for the single user

Office2019 : SINGLE install

"The picture of the box clearly says 1 PC/Mac"
The pic may have been for Office2019 , not 365 .

kiwifidget

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#2292440 8-Aug-2019 17:44

The pic I saw, the one in the 2nd link I posted, clearly says Office365 Personal, 1PC/Mac+1tablet.

That is probably an old box pic, but even the new box pics do not tell the full story.

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TwoSeven

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#2292492 8-Aug-2019 18:39

Sounds like there is a bit of confusion between the desktop version and the cloud versions.

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Brumfondl

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#2292561 8-Aug-2019 20:23

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Blog/You-re-about-to-get-even-more-from-your-Office-365-Home-or/ba-p/234907 has the details of the change to licensing from Microsoft. Basically backs up what the chat said.

Gordy7

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#2292625 8-Aug-2019 22:09

I have been looking at Office 365 personal but NZ does not get the USA pricing advantage for annual subscription.

US$6.99/month, US$69.99/year

and

NZ$10.00/month, NZ$119.00/year

Gordy

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kiwifidget

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#2292631 8-Aug-2019 22:32

Which is why you have to shop around, it can be found for less than $95.

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Brumfondl

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#2292679 9-Aug-2019 00:02

PB seem to have it for $99. The idea is to look out for it when it is stupidly cheap and then by a few. You can stack up the subscription to at least 3 years iirc.

jonathan18

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#2292726 9-Aug-2019 06:04

Yeah, agree about buying it in advance + frustrating to run out of a sub and have to pay close to full retail!

I was in that boat a couple of months back; I paid for a one-month sub waiting for it to come down on special, which it duly did at PBTech. $75, but ironically it was the physical version only on sale (not the digital key they email), so potentially more with postage (I just picked it up next time I was in Wgtn).

This time I will purchase another year in advance. So I tell myself.

Jogre

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#2294638 12-Aug-2019 11:18

Hi Kiwifidget!

As our chat agent has stated, you can have it installed on up to 5 devices. If you were to install and sign-in on a 6th device, you would be notified that you have exceeded this and will need to deactivate an install via your account.

I'll need to raise with the page owners though as even I'm getting confused looking at the descriptions here https://products.office.com/en-nz/compare-all-microsoft-office-products?&activetab=tab:primaryr1, specifically;

"One solution for you and your family across all your devices. Includes premium Office apps for up to 6 users on PC or Mac." as this doesn't talk to anything or help you decide which option to chose, 1 PC with 6 users or up to 5 PCs for a single user as stated in this thread.

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