How to download, install and activate Office 2013 Professional Plus
The office 2013 download comes from the link in your order email, not setup.office.com, and it usually arrives as an .img or .iso disc image. Mount it by double-clicking, run Setup.exe, then open Word and enter your product key under File, Account, Change Product Key. Allow 20 to 40 minutes.
| Official download | The link in your order email |
|---|---|
| Installer type | .img or .iso disc image, then Setup.exe |
| Time needed | 20 to 40 minutes, mostly downloading |
| Activation | Product key in Word, under File, Account |
| Works on | Windows 7 SP1 and later |
| Free help | Email every day, phone Mon–Fri 9am–6pm ET |
Before you start
Two things catch people out here: the disc image format, and Office already on the PC.
- Your 25-character product key. In your order email and in your account on our site.
- The download link from that email. The only installer that matches a Professional Plus key.
- No other Office on the PC. Remove older versions and Microsoft 365 trials through Control Panel, Programs and Features.
- A way to open a disc image. Windows 10 and 11 do it on a double-click. Older Windows needs 7-Zip or WinRAR.
- An administrator account. Setup writes into Program Files, so a standard user account is stopped.
| Requirement | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 7 SP1 and later |
| Processor | 1 GHz or faster with SSE2 |
| Memory | 2 GB RAM for the 64-bit build |
| Disk space | 3 GB free |
| Apps included | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher |
| Devices | One PC, business use allowed |
| Support status | Ended 11 April 2023 |
If you are installing on a very new PC, check Microsoft’s system requirements page at support.microsoft.com first.
Start the office 2013 download
Professional Plus is a volume edition, so setup.office.com will not take the key. The link in your order email is the route that matches it.
- Open your order email. It holds the 25-character office 2013 product key and the download link. Both are also in your account on our site.
- Click the download link. Professional Plus is a volume edition, so it is not on setup.office.com. A key typed there is refused.
- Choose 32-bit or 64-bit. Pick 64-bit unless an old add-in needs otherwise. Visio or Project added later must match.
- Let the file finish downloading. It usually arrives as an .img or .iso disc image rather than a plain setup file. That is the normal format for this release.
A disc image is not a sign that anything is wrong. Office 2013 was distributed that way, and it installs exactly like a DVD once mounted.
Mount the image and install Office 2013
Clear the old Office out first, then open the image and run Setup.exe from it. Nothing here asks for your key, which is normal.
- Uninstall any other Office first. Control Panel, Programs and Features, then remove older Office versions and Microsoft 365 trials. Skipping this causes error 30015-25.
- Mount the .img or .iso. On Windows 10 and 11, double-click the file and it opens as a drive in File Explorer. On older Windows, extract it with 7-Zip or WinRAR instead.
- Run Setup.exe from that drive. Right-click it and choose Run as administrator, then click Yes on the User Account Control prompt.
- Wait for the install to finish. A progress animation runs and needs no input. Close the confirmation window, and eject the mounted drive when it is done.
A 32-bit and a 64-bit install cannot sit side by side. Note which you chose, because Visio and Project have to match it.
Activate Office 2013 with your product key
The apps run in a limited mode until a key is accepted. Activation happens inside Word, not on a website, and covers every installed app.
- Open Word from the Start menu. Any Office app works, but Word is the quickest way in.
- Go to File, then Account. File is at the top left. Account sits near the bottom of the list down the left side.
- Click Change Product Key. It is under Product Information on the right. If the button is missing, close Word and reopen it.
- Type the key and click Activate. Dashes are filled in for you and case does not matter. Product Information should then read Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 as activated, and every installed app is licensed at once.
If activation is refused with 0xC004C020, the key needs telephone activation and a Confirmation ID. That is a normal route for volume keys and still gives a fully activated copy. Our Confirmation ID guide covers the call.
Check that it worked
Half a minute tells you whether the license landed. If anything looks wrong, the troubleshooting below covers it.
- File, Account in Word reads “Product Activated” under Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013.
- No banner above the ribbon asks you to activate.
- You can edit and save a document, with no read-only warning.
- The mounted drive is ejected and the .img file can be moved to a backup folder.
Common errors and how to fix them
The messages customers actually hit on this release. If yours is not here, email contact@officegsm.com with a screenshot and your order number.
The download is an .img or .iso and Windows will not open it
Disc images are the normal format for Office 2013, and Windows 10 and 11 mount them natively when you double-click. If nothing happens, right-click the file, choose Open with, and pick Windows Explorer. On Windows 7 or 8 there is no built-in mounting, so extract the image with 7-Zip or WinRAR into a folder and run Setup.exe from there. Do not rename the file or change its extension, because that is what usually breaks the association.
Error 0xC004C020 when you activate
The key has reached the number of online activations Microsoft allows it, so the server declines and offers the telephone route instead. Nothing is wrong with the key. Choose phone activation, read out the installation ID and type back the Confirmation ID you are given. Our Confirmation ID guide walks through the call, which takes about five minutes. If the automated line will not issue a code, email contact@officegsm.com with your order number.
Error 30015-25 or 30038-25 during setup
Another copy of Office is still on the PC with its files locked, so setup stops before it can replace them. Open Control Panel, Programs and Features, and remove every Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 entry, including trials that shipped with the machine. Restart Windows, then run Setup.exe again. If an entry refuses to uninstall, Microsoft publishes a support and recovery tool on support.microsoft.com that clears the remains.
“Unlicensed Product” across the top of the ribbon
The apps installed but no key was accepted, so Office is in reduced functionality mode and will not save your edits. Open Word, go to File, Account, Change Product Key and enter the key from your order email. If it already shows as entered, click Reactivate there instead. A PC that has been offline for a long stretch can show the same banner, and reconnecting then reopening Word clears that case.
Office 2013 Professional Plus download questions
What buyers ask us most.
Where is the official office 2013 download?
It is the link in your order email. Professional Plus is a volume edition, and volume editions are never published on setup.office.com, which is why a key typed there is refused. Your email carries the installer link and the key together, and the same pair sits in your account on our site. Expect a disc image rather than a plain setup file. We only link Microsoft files, because installers repackaged by download sites often refuse a genuine key. If your link has expired, email us and we will send a fresh one the same day.
How do I open the .img file I downloaded?
On Windows 10 and 11, double-click it. Windows mounts the image as a new drive in File Explorer, and you run Setup.exe from there as you would from a DVD. When you are finished, right-click that drive and choose Eject. On Windows 7 or 8, which have no built-in mounting, open the file with 7-Zip or WinRAR and extract everything into a folder, then run Setup.exe from the folder. Either route gives you the same installer, and neither needs a blank disc.
Which apps come with Office 2013 Professional Plus?
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access and Publisher, all installed as ordinary desktop programs. Professional Plus is the fullest Office 2013 edition, so Access and Publisher are included where the Home editions leave them out. Commercial use is covered, so invoicing, client work and business mail through Outlook are all fine. One key licenses the whole set, which means no separate activation for each app. Files save in the standard formats and open in later versions of Office without any conversion step.
Is Office 2013 still supported, and should I buy it?
Microsoft ended support for Office 2013 on 11 April 2023. The apps still open, your documents are untouched and the license does not expire, but no security updates are issued for this version any more. It suits an older PC that cannot take a newer Office, a machine used offline, or a spare computer where the price matters more than updates do. If this is your everyday computer, our Office 2024 Professional Plus guide covers a version Microsoft still supports.
Need a genuine Office 2013 Professional Plus key?
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