Installing the Microsoft 365 apps on a new or home computer
Updated 10 November 2026 · How-to
How to install Word, Excel, Outlook and the rest on a computer we have not set up, how many devices you can use, and what to do when you stop using one.
Most Microsoft 365 business plans include the desktop Office apps, and your licence lets you install them on several devices. On computers we manage, the apps are already installed. This article is for a home computer or a device we have not prepared.
Check your plan first
Microsoft 365 Business Basic includes the web and mobile versions of the apps but not the desktop ones; Business Standard and Business Premium include the desktop apps. If you are not sure which you have, ask us. If you need the desktop apps and are on Basic, we can look at changing your licence.
Installing
On the computer, open a browser and sign in at office.com with your work email and password, approving the sign-in on your phone. Click Install apps (or Install Office) near the top right and run the download. The installer fetches everything it needs and takes ten to thirty minutes. When it finishes, open any Office app and sign in with your work account so it activates.
How many devices
A business licence usually allows the apps on up to five computers, five tablets and five phones at once, all signed in with the same work account. If you reach the limit, sign out of a device you no longer use from the Devices section of your account at office.com.
Home computers and shared machines
Installing the work apps on a home computer is allowed under most plans, but remember that the computer is outside your business's protection. Keep work files in OneDrive or SharePoint rather than on the home computer, do not let family members use your work sign-in, and sign out of the apps when you stop using the computer. If the computer is shared, consider using the web versions at office.com instead, and sign out when you finish. See Working from home securely.
When you stop using a device
Sign out of the Office apps and OneDrive before you sell, give away or recycle a computer, and remove it from your account's device list. When someone leaves the business, we sign all their devices out as part of the leaver process, so the apps stop working on any personal device they installed them on.
Problems activating
If the apps say they are unlicensed or keep asking you to sign in, the usual causes are an old account still signed in, or a licence that was recently changed. Sign out of all Office apps, restart, sign in again with your work account, and if it still does not work email hello@bitlogix.tech with a screenshot.
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