[JohnR]

Not to join the chorus of complaints about MS, but....

I bought a 12-month subscription to MS 365 as I always do. It comes with a product key to activate it for 12 months.

Guess what - @$!^ing microsoft won't activate it unless I give them a "payment method" so they can charge me automatically when it runs out. But I always just buy the thing at a retailer. I'd be surprised if this is actually legal.

The other option is to "contact support" which I'm now doing, so far 20 minutes and counting.

Argh.

[Doublej]

What are the features keeping you on it? There are a few alternatives.

[JohnR]

The only thing really is Publisher, which one client uses occasionally. It's a pig anyway, I'll just not do that work, it's only once in a blue moon.

I do still use Unibox on Excel so this is a good opp to learn VituixCad properly.

[JohnR]

MS support haven't got a clue about it.
Going back to the retailer tomorrow to try for a refund 

[SoCalWJS]

What are the features keeping you on it? There are a few alternatives.

I’m pretty much in the same boat as JohnR (OP)(I should have another 2-3 months on my 365 Purchase, but it wants me to re-enter my Key [which I seem to have misplaced   ] in order to get into Outlook)

What are the best “Alternatives” to Office these days?

My main uses are Outlook and Word, with occasional Excel. Don’t use the others much.

…..but I REALLY like Outlook & Word.

[FullRangeMan]

Iam 3 months trying cancel a free Hotmail No success só far.

[Doublej]

JohnR is stuck on MS365 since he has a client he shares work products with. If you are just looking for MS Publisher alternatives Scribus seems to be a frequently mentioned open source desktop publisher.

The go to open source alternative to Outlook is Thunderbird. There are a number of open source alternatives to MS Office. Libre Office is one of the more popular ones. The 'trick' with it is to ensure that you have the Microsoft font package installed so that if you share documents with MS Office users you minimize formatting issues.

I don't know if this is an issue on Windows 10/11. It's a big deal on Linux but seemingly easily addressed by installing a Microsoft font pack. It's free and can be installed with a couple of clicks.

The Macintosh folks get a free office suite from Apple called iWork. It includes a word processor/desktop publisher called Pages, spreadsheet program called Numbers and presentation tool called Keynote. Apple includes an email/calendar package with the operating sytsem.

[JakeJ]

Just thought I'd throw my .02 in the pot.

JohnR's dilemma is specialized due to his client's needs.  I don't have direct suggestion for his situation.

However, I'd like to point out that due my Win 10 box dying and moving to a Win 11 box I too needed to replace the MS Office suite I paid for once already and feel I shouldn't have to pay the subscription fees, or at least there should be tiered fees depending on how long one has owned the product.

So I decided to research the open source programs available and installed Apache OpenOffice and Thunderbird Mail (thanks to tips from JohnR and Yog Sogoth).  I also installed the Libre Open Office suite on my Linux box and am impressed with it.  In both Windows and Linux programs I can open, read, edit and save any of my existing MS Office files.  That was most important as I gave up memorizing passwords years ago and have an Excel file with everything saved in it.  I print it out once a year and stash that for a backup.  One of my new year's resolutions is to create and maintain better back ups.

So, if you want to be rid of MS and their new greedier business model then check out the open source versions available.  And if you like it you can make a donation that is in keeping with your budget.

Hope this helps.

[Zuman]

I bought a "permanent" copy of Microsoft Office 2021 last month for $249.99. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Yeah, $250 isn't really cheap, but my previous version (2016) was good for 7 years, and I prefer a non-subscription model. Besides, there are many other things that I use less frequently and paid more for.

[jpm]

It's worth shopping around for MS 365 subscriptions. My last two have come from Costco which in the past has been a 15 month sub for the price of 12 months. The last thing I want to do is to renew with MS automatically.

[snaimpally]

https://www.stacksocial.com/articles/lifetime-license-microsoft-office-50-dollars

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows - Lifetime License - $50

I always look for deals like this to avoid the subscription hassles.

[SoCalWJS]

https://www.stacksocial.com/articles/lifetime-license-microsoft-office-50-dollars

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows - Lifetime License - $50

I always look for deals like this to avoid the subscription hassles.

Looks like it is “Sold Out” for Windows version - only Apple/Mac avail.   

[JohnR]

It's worth shopping around for MS 365 subscriptions. My last two have come from Costco which in the past has been a 15 month sub for the price of 12 months. The last thing I want to do is to renew with MS automatically.

Ah, so the issue is that Microsoft are now forcing you set up a renewal with them before they will activate the 12(15) month subscription that you have already purchased from the retailer!

This is a new thing (since a year ago).

Yes you can "cancel before the renewal is due" but there should be no reason to have to set it up at all.

[JohnR]

I bought a "permanent" copy of Microsoft Office 2021 last month for $249.99.

Hi, does that work without having to log in/activate with a MS account?

[JohnR]

Refund obtained and my Microsoft account is (supposely) in the process of being closed. It seems like MS has become like Paypal, they don't even care about keeping customers any more.

It's weird, a few years ago I was trying to get away from Apple due to their ludicrous memory/storage upcharges and now I've swung completely back the other way. I mean, you now have to actively search for all the options in Windows 11 to stop MS tracking everything you do on your own computer in your own home. The (maybe) worst thing is the way they present it - it's not "give us permission to track everything you do on this computer" and "target ads at you" but weasely words like "improve your experience." Windows is now strictly for testing and for software that can't be run on anything else.

[JakeJ]

Hmm...seems to support my view on moving to Linux permanently.  However that doesn't solve your problem.

Well, I can't imagine going back to Apple is an option so it's quite the dilemma.  Possible to just have an isolated Win 11 box with the needed MS Office products to satisfy this client?  Even keep it off your network and the internet?

Don't know if this is of interest but this PC is using the DuckDuckGo browser and when I open it the home page is a list of all the tracking items headed by a count.  My current tally is 4,009 since installation 2 or 3 days ago.  The Google incognito mode is a joke.

Apache OpenOffice does not have a product to compete with MS Publisher.

Microsoft bad!  /rant

[JohnR]

Microsoft bad!  /rant

Hah hah  I do seem to have become a bit of a grumpy old man.

[Zuman]

Hi, does that work without having to log in/activate with a MS account?

Sorry...I'm not sure. My regular email address is a free outlook.com acount (which, of course, is Microsoft), so that's what I used when I purchased Office 2021. However, I know that I don't have to be logged into any Microsoft account when I use Word or Excel. And I can certainly use them without an internet connection.

[JohnR]

https://www.stacksocial.com/articles/lifetime-license-microsoft-office-50-dollars

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows - Lifetime License - $50

I always look for deals like this to avoid the subscription hassles.

So PC World was selling Office 2019 licenses at big discounts (like 80%). I thought I'd give it a try - I mean, it's PC World so legit, right?

Turns out it was actually from stacksocial. AND the code had already been redeemed by someone else!!! So this is dodgy AF. At any rate, their support sent me a new code which did work.

So the saga is over for me, for now. The client has a dedicated Windows machine which MS can get their claws into. I'll try and use that license/version on it until it dies. Most of the time I'll just use my Macs.

And about time I had another go at Linux. Jake, maybe we should have another thread?

[JakeJ]

So PC World was selling Office 2019 licenses at big discounts (like 80%). I thought I'd give it a try - I mean, it's PC World so legit, right?

Turns out it was actually from stacksocial. AND the code had already been redeemed by someone else!!! So this is dodgy AF. At any rate, their support sent me a new code which did work.

So the saga is over for me, for now. The client has a dedicated Windows machine which MS can get their claws into. I'll try and use that license/version on it until it dies. Most of the time I'll just use my Macs.

And about time I had another go at Linux. Jake, maybe we should have another thread?

Yes! 

Found it!