How to download, install and activate Office 2016 Professional Plus on 5 PCs
The steps are the same as for a single PC, just repeated on each machine. Download the installer once from the link in your order email, run it on each computer, then open Word and enter the same office 2016 license key under File, Account, Change Product Key. Allow 20 to 40 minutes per PC.
| Official download | The link in your order email, one file for all five PCs |
|---|---|
| Installer type | Setup .exe, 32-bit or 64-bit |
| Time needed | 20 to 40 minutes per computer |
| Activation | Same product key in Word, under File, Account |
| Works on | Windows 7 SP1, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11 |
| Free help | Email every day, phone Mon–Fri 9am–6pm ET |
Before you start
One thing separates a smooth rollout from a messy one: keeping track of which computer you have done.
- Your 25-character product key. One key covers all five computers, and it is in your order email.
- The activation count from your order email. That line tells you exactly how many machines the key is good for.
- The installer downloaded once. Put it on a USB stick rather than downloading it five times.
- A note of which PC is which. A list of machine names saves you if an activation goes astray later.
| Requirement | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 7 SP1 or newer, including 10 and 11 |
| Processor | 1 GHz or faster with SSE2 |
| Memory | 2 GB RAM for the 64-bit build |
| Disk space | 3 GB free on each PC |
| Apps included | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher |
| Devices | Five PCs, business use allowed |
| Support status | Ended 14 October 2025 |
Download the Office 2016 installer once
Professional Plus is a volume edition, so it is not on setup.office.com and a key typed there fails. The link in your order email is the right route, and you need it once.
- Open your order email. It carries the office 2016 license key, the download link, and the line saying how many activations the key covers. Read that line first.
- Click the download link. Professional Plus is a volume edition, so it is not on setup.office.com. This link is the installer that matches your key.
- Choose 32-bit or 64-bit. Pick one and use it on every PC. Mixing builds makes later Visio or Project installs awkward.
- Copy the installer to a USB stick. Downloading once and carrying the file round saves a few hundred megabytes per computer.
Buying for one computer? The single PC version is the same software with fewer activations, and has its own guide.
Install Office 2016 on each computer
Work through the machines one at a time. Nothing is shared, so a problem on one PC has no effect on the others.
- Remove any other Office on that PC. Control Panel, Programs and Features, then take out older Office versions and Microsoft 365 trials. Skipping this causes error 30015-25.
- Right-click the installer, choose Run as administrator. Setup writes into Program Files, so click Yes on the User Account Control prompt.
- Let setup run to the end. A progress animation replaces the old wizard and needs no input. Stay online and do not sleep the PC.
- Repeat on the next computer. Each machine gets its own full install. The order you do them in does not matter.
Use the same bit version on every PC. Visio or Project added later has to match it.
Activate Office 2016 on every PC with the same key
The same key goes into all five computers. Each activates separately, and licenses every app on that machine.
- Open Word on the PC you just installed. Any Office app works. A blank document is enough.
- Go to File, then Account. File is at the top left. Account is near the bottom of the list down the left side.
- Click Change Product Key. It sits under Product Information on the right. The same key goes into every PC.
- Type the key, click Activate, then write down which PC it was. Product Information should read Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 as activated. Keep a short list of machine names as you go, because that is what we need if you run out of activations.
Later computers often come back with 0xC004C020, because the key has used its online activations. That is expected, not a fault. Switch to telephone activation and follow our Confirmation ID guide, or call us and we will do it with you.
Check that it worked
Run this check on each PC as you finish it, and note the machine and date on your list at the same time.
- File, Account in Word reads “Product Activated” under Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016.
- No banner above the ribbon asks you to activate or subscribe.
- Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook open normally, because one key covers every app on that PC.
Common errors and how to fix them
What goes wrong across a set of computers. If your message is not here, email contact@officegsm.com with a screenshot and your order number.
Error 0xC004C020 on the third, fourth or fifth PC
The key has used up its online activations, which is the expected behaviour on a multi-PC key once you have worked through the machines. Nothing is broken. Choose telephone activation in the wizard, read out the installation ID and type back the Confirmation ID. Our Confirmation ID guide covers the call, and it takes about five minutes per computer. If the automated line refuses, email contact@officegsm.com with your order number and the PC number.
You have run out of activations before the last PC
Either a machine was activated twice after a reinstall, or a hardware change made Windows treat the same PC as a new one. Count the computers actually running Office now. If that number is below what your order email says the key covers, send us the count and your order number and we will get you activated. If you genuinely need more computers than the pack covers, we can supply another key rather than have you reuse this one past its limit.
Error 30015-25 or 30038-25 on one machine
Another copy of Office is still installed on that PC and its files are 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 any trial that shipped with the computer. Restart Windows, then run the installer again. If an entry refuses to uninstall, Microsoft publishes a support and recovery tool on support.microsoft.com that clears the leftovers.
“Unlicensed Product” appears on a PC you already activated
That machine has lost its license record, usually after a Windows reinstall, a motherboard swap or a long stretch offline. Open Word, go to File, Account and click Reactivate if the button is there. If it is not, use Change Product Key and enter the key again. A reactivation on the same computer does not normally consume a fresh slot, but if it is refused, the phone route in the Confirmation ID guide will finish the job.
Office 2016 5 PC license questions
What buyers ask us about multi-PC keys.
How many computers does the office 2016 license key cover?
Your order email states the number the key is good for, and that line is the one to trust rather than any figure you read elsewhere. This pack is sold for five PCs, so five separate computers can run Office 2016 Professional Plus at the same time from the one key. They do not have to be in the same house or office. What the license does not allow is more machines than the key covers, so if a sixth computer appears later, talk to us about another key rather than stretching this one.
Do I download the installer five times?
No. It is the same file for every computer, so download it once and carry it on a USB stick or a shared folder. That saves several hundred megabytes per machine, which makes a real difference on a slow connection or a mobile hotspot. Use the same bit version everywhere, because a 32-bit install and a 64-bit install behave differently when you later add Visio or Project. The installer never asks for the key, so the file you copy around holds nothing sensitive.
Can I move one of the activations to a replacement PC?
Yes. Uninstall Office 2016 through Control Panel, Programs and Features on the machine you are retiring, then install and activate on the replacement with the same key. That keeps the number of live installs within what you bought. The activation server does not always release the old slot straight away, so the new PC may need telephone activation and a Confirmation ID. That is normal for volume keys and still gives you a fully activated copy. Keep your list of machines and dates up to date as you swap them over.
Is Office 2016 still supported?
Microsoft ended support for Office 2016 on 14 October 2025. The apps still open, your files are untouched and the license does not expire, but no further security updates are issued. For a set of offline machines, a workshop, or PCs already behind good antivirus, plenty of people are happy with that trade at this price, and the files themselves are never at risk. If these are everyday computers handling mail and downloads, our Office 2024 Professional Plus guide covers a version still in support.
Need Office 2016 on five computers?
$16.95 once for the whole pack, emailed within minutes, with a 180-day money-back guarantee and free help on every activation.