Solved! need to buy [legal] office 2013 licesnes

[kayla9639]

need to buy office 2013 licenses. 2016 might work. these are for a client, they need older version for compatibility reasons. any ideas where i can get [legal] licenses from?

also what happens if i use home & student licenses on 13 business pc's? will this violate MS licensing and/or put my certs at risk?

 

[darkbreeze]

It's not cheap.

https/www.amazon.com/Office-Professional-2013-Card-1User/dp/B009SPL2K0

 

[Solandri]

You should be able to get used copies. Microsoft made the licenses transferable after much complaining by the public.

https/www.cnet.com/news/office-2013-licenses-can-now-be-transferred-to-another-pc/

Getting install media might be a bit harder. A lot of those retail copies were just a serial key in a box, and instructions on how to download Office 2013 from Microsoft's servers. I dunno if those download servers are still working.

 

[punkncat]

There are downloads available going back to at least Office 10 Pro, but they make them about as hard to find as they can while continually pushing you towards the new subscription service. I can also say that the license will quit working after you re-enter it a few times, like when formatting a drive. It's a total PITA because they won't offer support on the problem.

There are a couple of "open" office programs that are fully compatible with the MS suite, if just a touch different.

 

[darkbreeze]

You should be able to get used copies. Microsoft made the licenses transferable after much complaining by the public.

https/www.cnet.com/news/office-2013-licenses-can-now-be-transferred-to-another-pc/

Getting install media might be a bit harder. A lot of those retail copies were just a serial key in a box, and instructions on how to download Office 2013 from Microsoft's servers. I dunno if those download servers are still working.

That is only for transferring licenses to other machines that belong to YOU, once every 90 days. It has nothing at all to do with transferring a license to somebody else. In order to transfer the license, it would HAVE to be attached to YOUR Microsoft account. You can't transfer Office licenses from one Microsoft account to another one.

Your best and most "official" means of obtaining licenses is directly through Microsoft or through an offically supported reseller of Microsoft products like Amazon and Newegg. Even then you have to make sure you are not buying from a 3rd party reseller, as we've recently seen a number of Windows and Office licenses that were blacklisted even though they were purchased through sellers on both Amazon and Newegg and no resolution due to it, just "out" of that money.

 

[Solandri]

That is only for transferring licenses to other machines that belong to YOU, once every 90 days. It has nothing at all to do with transferring a license to somebody else.

Quote from article I linked:

Can I transfer the software to another computer or user?

You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you, but not more than one time every 90 days (except due to hardware failure, in which case you may transfer sooner). If you transfer the software to another computer, that other computer becomes the "licensed computer." You may also transfer the software (together with the license) to a computer owned by someone else if a) you are the first licensed user of the software and b) the new user agrees to the terms of this agreement before the transfer. Any time you transfer the software to a new computer, you must remove the software from the prior computer and you may not retain any copies.

 

[darkbreeze]

Well, that part IS news to me. I stand corrected, although, I'm not actually finding any official microsoft documentation that repeats the wording used in that blog entry. I've seen them blog things on the MS site before and then later come back and say "nah, we didn't actually MEAN that". LOL.