How to fix "Unable to Associate your Purchase"

To resolve the "Unable to associate your purchase" error when trying to activate Microsoft Word after a factory reset, you can follow these steps:

1. Check Your Microsoft Account: Ensure that you are signing in with the correct Microsoft account that has the subscription associated with it. If you have multiple accounts, try logging in with each one to see if the purchase can be associated.
2. Sign Out and Sign In Again: Sign out of all Microsoft 365 apps and then sign back in with the correct account. This can sometimes refresh the account association.
3. Clear Cached Credentials: On your Mac, you can use the Keychain Access app to delete any saved passwords related to Office. This may help in resetting any cached credentials that are causing the issue. To do this:
   • Open Keychain Access.
   • Search for entries containing "Office" and delete them.
   • Restart your Mac and try signing in again.
4. Contact Support: If the issue persists, you may need to contact Microsoft support for further assistance, as they can help verify your purchase and account association.

These steps should help you resolve the activation issue with Microsoft Word after your factory reset.

References:

• Microsoft 365 apps activation error "Another account from your organization is already signed in on this computer"
• Account or subscription verification errors activating Microsoft 365 Apps

Dear Grace

Thank you for posting your question on the Q&A forum. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your concern. I completely understand how confusing this situation can be, especially when things don’t work as expected. Please know that you’re not alone, the community and I are here to help you find the best possible solution.

First, let's verify that your subscription is active using one of these two options:

• If you have a Personal/Family account: Check your services here: https://account.microsoft.com/services
• If you have a Business/School account: Check your subscriptions here: https://portal.office.com/account/#subscriptions

If your subscription appears on the Microsoft website, your account is in good standing. The issue is likely due to old cache files on your Mac from before the reset, which can confuse the Word app. To resolve this, first sign out of all Office applications and close them completely. Then, open Finder and navigate to Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access, where you should remove any identities related to Microsoft Office. Finally, download and run the Microsoft License Removal Tool to remove Office license files from your Mac. For detailed instructions, refer to the official guide: How to remove Office license files on a Mac

If your subscription does not appear on the Microsoft website (even though Apple charged you), please verify that the subscription is active under your Apple ID. You can check this by viewing your purchase history for the App Store and other Apple media services: View your purchase history for the App Store and other Apple media services

Note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. These sites are not controlled by Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks before using any suggestions from the above link.

Next, open Word and make sure you are completely signed out. On the Sign-in or Get Started screen, look for the small text at the bottom that says Restore Purchase (or Restore Previous Purchase). Click it and enter your Apple ID password. This will force the app to retrieve the receipt from Apple and link it to your current Microsoft account. For detailed steps, refer to this official guide: Restore previous purchase - Microsoft Support

Please try these steps to see if the issue is resolved and let me know if you need further assistance. Please understand that initial reply may not always immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Look forward to your reply.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.