LICENSES PREVIOUSLY TECH SOUP NEED UPDATING

Hi @Keri Caruthers 

Thank you for reaching out, and I’m really sorry to hear about the disruption you're experiencing, especially given the critical nature of your organization’s work. I completely understand how urgent it is to restore your email access. 

From what you’ve described, it sounds like your Microsoft licensing (previously obtained through TechSoup) may have expired or is no longer active. When this happens, services like email (Exchange Online) can become inaccessible, and updates through apps may fail. 

Here are the key steps we recommend: 

1. Check license status 
   • Please sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (https://admin.microsoft.com) using your admin account. 
   • Navigate to Billing > Your products to confirm whether your licenses are active or expired. 
2. Renew or reassign licenses 
   • If licenses have expired, they will need to be renewed through TechSoup or your Microsoft nonprofit portal. Please contact TechSoup directly to get support with renewing or reactivating your nonprofit licensing. 
   • Once renewed, ensure licenses are properly assigned to affected users. 
3. Contact Microsoft support (If needed)  Given the urgency, we strongly recommend contacting Microsoft Support directly: 

• Ticket Support: In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center>Support>Help & Support. You can raise support ticket  
• Phone Support: Microsoft provides customer service phone numbers based on your region. You can find the appropriate contact number here.  

You can find more details here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/get-help-support 

I hope the information provided proves useful. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out at any time. 

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Thank you again for your thoughtful engagement and for being an active part of this space. Your participation is genuinely appreciated. 

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Kind regards, 

The errors and loss of access are almost certainly due to licensing and/or account issues, not something that can be fixed only from inside the apps.

Take these steps in order:

1. Confirm the correct account and license
   • Sign in to the Microsoft account or work/school account that should hold the nonprofit licenses and check that it actually has an active Microsoft 365 subscription.
   • For home-style subscriptions, the account must have Microsoft 365 Personal or Family.
   • For business/nonprofit-style subscriptions, the account must have a Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, E5, F1 or F3 (or equivalent nonprofit) subscription.
   • If the apps show a "Couldn't update license" or similar message, it usually means the signed-in account does not have the right license. Switch to the account that owns the subscription in the top-right corner of the Office app and try again.
2. Check for unlicensed or expired Office
   • If Office shows Unlicensed Product or activation errors, verify that the subscription is not expired.
   • If the subscription has expired, the apps will not activate and will show messages like “We couldn't find any Office products.” The subscription must be renewed or replaced with a new valid license before the apps and Outlook will work again.
   • Also check that there is not a second, conflicting copy of Office installed on the same device, as multiple installs can cause activation conflicts.
3. If Outlook for Mac is involved
   • If the error says the account cannot be added because the license does not enable access to Outlook for Mac, make sure Outlook is activated with a license that includes the desktop apps (for example: Microsoft 365 Business Standard/Business Premium, Microsoft 365 Apps for business/enterprise, or the listed E/A/G plans).
   • If using Outlook for Mac and seeing a license error, either:
     • Have the nonprofit’s IT admin upgrade the license to one that includes the desktop apps, or
     • Sign in with another account that has a qualifying license (personal or work/school) to activate Outlook, then add the nonprofit mailbox.
4. If email access itself is failing (OWA/Outlook on the web)
   • If webmail (Outlook on the web) shows 404 or startup errors, the mailbox may be disabled even if the sign-in account is active.
   • In that case, a tenant/global admin must check the mailbox status in Exchange Online and re-enable the mailbox if it shows as disabled.
5. Network and security checks (if license is valid but activation still fails)
   • Temporarily disable or review antivirus/firewall software that might be blocking Office from reaching Microsoft’s licensing servers.
   • Check proxy settings in Microsoft Edge/Internet Explorer and ensure they are not blocking access to Microsoft 365 URLs. Try turning off manual proxy settings and automatic scripts, then test activation again.
6. If nothing works
   • Because this is a nonprofit with critical email needs, the next step is to contact Microsoft Support directly so an agent can look at the tenant, licenses, and mailbox status and correct any backend issues.

References:

• I get a "Couldn't Update License" error in Microsoft 365
• Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office
• How licensing and access works in Outlook for Mac
• Unable to add an account in Outlook for Mac
• Not able to have access to my email ! - Microsoft Q&A
• Excel is no longer registered and can't access some server so it won't let me save anything - Microsoft Q&A