Activating Microsoft Office 2021 with a product key is an essential step for utilizing all the features of the office suite. Let’s explore how to find and apply the product key for the Microsoft Office 2021 Professional Plus.
Who is Office 2021 Professional Plus Suitable For?
Office 2021 Professional Plus is the most comprehensive version of the office suite, which includes:
- Word — a powerful word processor for creating, editing, and formatting documents of any complexity. It supports real-time collaboration, spelling and grammar checking, PDF export, and much more.
- Excel — a functional spreadsheet processor for working with data, calculations, analysis, and visualization. It includes pivot tables, conditional formatting, filters, charts, and over 400 functions.
- PowerPoint — a program for creating presentations with extensive design, animation, and multimedia capabilities. It allows you to create slides, diagrams, charts, and add video and audio.
- Outlook — a convenient email client and organizer for managing email, calendars, contacts, and tasks. It supports multiple accounts, email sorting rules, signatures, and templates.
- Publisher — an application for the layout of print and electronic publications such as brochures, newsletters, postcards, and catalogs. It offers numerous ready-made templates and design tools.
- Access — a database management system for storing, organizing, and analyzing structured information. It allows you to create tables, queries, forms, and reports without programming skills.
This edition of the office suite is suitable for:
- Companies of any size, from small businesses to large corporations.
- Employees who need a full set of tools for working with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, and publications.
- Individual users with advanced requirements for office application functionality.
- Anyone who wants to purchase Office 2021 once without a subscription.
For small companies and home use, you can choose the Office 2021 Home and Business edition, which includes only Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
System Requirements for Office 2021
Before installing Office 2021 Professional Plus, ensure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements:
- Processor: 1.6 GHz or faster, dual-core.
- RAM: 4 GB or more.
- Free disk space: 4 GB.
- Display: 1280×768 resolution or higher.
- Graphics: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 2.0 required for hardware acceleration.
- Operating system: Windows 10 or Windows 11.
- Browser: Latest version of Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox.
- Internet connection for installation and activation.
Downloading the Office 2021 Installation File
First, you need to download the Microsoft Office 2021 Professional Plus installation file from the official Microsoft website. Some browsers may issue a security warning when downloading the file. However, there’s no need to worry — the link leads directly to Microsoft’s CDN server, so downloading the file is absolutely safe.
The installation file size is about 4 GB, so the download may take some time depending on your internet connection speed. Save the file to any convenient location on your computer.
Step-by-Step Installation Process for Office 2021
When the installation file download is complete:
- Go to the “Downloads” folder or other location where the file was saved.
- Double-click the file to start the installation.
- In the window that appears, select the Office 2021 Professional Plus package and click “Install”.
- Wait for the installation process to complete, which can take up to 30 minutes. You can monitor the progress in the installer window.
- After the installation is complete, you will be prompted to activate Office. Choose the “Enter product key” option to proceed directly to activation.
In most cases, the installation starts automatically. But if it doesn’t, right-click on the file, select the “Mount” option — and a new virtual drive will appear in Windows Explorer. Open this drive to start the installation process.
If the installation process is interrupted or doesn’t start, check that you meet the minimum system requirements and have enough free disk space. Disabling your antivirus during installation may also help.
Activating Office 2021 with a Product Key
After the installation is complete, you need to launch any application from the office suite, such as Word or Excel. They can be easily found through the Start menu. Then enter the product key obtained when purchasing Office 2021.
Activation process:
- Open any Office application, such as Word.
- Go to the “Account” or “Activation Settings” section.
- Click the “Change Product Key” button.
- Enter the 25-digit product key in the field and click “Install.”
- Wait for the activation process to complete. Now all Office applications will be activated.
An essential point: if another version of Office was already installed on the computer, such as Microsoft 365, it must be uninstalled before activation. Otherwise, there will be a conflict between the two versions of the office suite.
If the product key has not yet been purchased, you should look for a reliable reseller from whom you can buy a key for Office 2021 Professional Plus. When purchasing, be sure to check the seller’s reputation and ensure that an original product key is offered, not a trial version or subscription.
Summary
Let’s briefly recap the key steps for installing and activating Microsoft Office 2021 Professional Plus:
- Download the installation file from the official Microsoft link.
- Start the installation process and wait for it to complete.
- Enter the purchased product key to activate Office 2021.
- Remove other versions of Office beforehand to avoid conflicts.
By using the purchased and activated Office suite, you can access all the features of Office 2021 and work comfortably without worrying about activation problems. Good luck with the installation and productive work with Microsoft Office 2021 Professional Plus!