Office 2016 Trial Version Will Not Uninstall Entirely

imgain · 06 Apr 2018

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me with this most irritating issue that started in the last few months:

The trial version of Microsoft Office 2016 that comes pre-installed on new laptops does not uninstall entirely.

We use Volume Licensing, so when we uninstall Office via the Control Panel, it acts as though it's uninstalling as in it no longer appears in ControlPanel/Programs. I also remove all instances of it in the start panel, and anywhere else it may be lurking. After uninstalling it, I install our own standalone version of Microsoft Office 2016 Standard and activate it with the key. I usually restart the system after activation, and when I bring up Excel it nags about product activation, with the option of "signing in" or activate by product key. I opt for product key. All looks good until I go to use Excel, Word, then the nag begins again.

I've used this: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/uninstall-office-from-a-pc-9dd49b83-264a-477a-8fcc-2fdf5dbf61d8?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US Option 2, but still have the same issue. As a last resort, I have to totally wipe the system and rebuild it. It's freaking crazy.

Has anyone else encountered this, and if so, what do you do to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

Caledon Ken · 07 Apr 2018

Hi imgain. Welcome to the TenForums @imgain

When you say you activate it by product key and everything looks okay are you actually clicking File => Account and is the product showing Activated with the right product name directly below it?

imgain · 07 Apr 2018

Yes, File >> Account.

I click on Change Product Key, paste the appropriate key in the field, the checkmark turns green when I click OK, then it says activated. It doesn't return the product key specifically, just says "Activated".

Caledon Ken · 07 Apr 2018

hmmm.

and it has the right product name?

and when you start it next are you using the program menu under Office 2016 or an icon on task bar / start menu?

Wynona · 08 Apr 2018

Good afternoon, Imgrain:

Yes, File >> Account.

I click on Change Product Key, paste the appropriate key in the field, the checkmark turns green when I click OK, then it says activated. It doesn't return the product key specifically, just says "Activated".

FYI: By design, Office won't produce your product key. You can get it with the free version of Belarc Advisor, though, if you want to check to see if it "took". Historically, almost from the time I started testing Office 365 (subscription), there have been issues with

FYI: In case you didn't know, Microsoft Office is somehow (I've never tried it) included with Windows 10, but is a tad bit convoluted and of course, won't sub for the real deal.

Don't try to uninstall this version.

If you accidentally (or on purpose) installed the trial version on your computer, you may be able to get it off with the free version of Revo Uninstaller: Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download - Uninstall software, remove programs, solve uninstall problems
... Revo will list pretty much every app on your computer.

Again, don't try to uninstall the online version; I'm not sure what that would do, since I haven't used it, but better to be safe than sorry. In fact, I've seen no adverse reaction to leaving it status quo. I have uninstalled the "trial version" from the Start Menu, though. Right click>Uninstall.

Kari · 08 Apr 2018

Please open an elevated Command Prompt and run following command:

If your installed Office is 32 bit: cd "\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16"

-- OR --

If your installed Office is 64 bit: cd "\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"

Now run following command: cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus

Post output here as screenshot, here's mine as an example:

Office 2016 Trial Version Will Not Uninstall Entirely-image.png

(Click to enlarge.)

Kari