From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

"As in title. After inserting the key again thankfully it started
working. Glad we had listed keys that were activated on each machine,
because OSPP.VBS wasn't showing anything.

Anyone else experienced this?

EDIT:

not only 2019... and sometimes pasting the key doesn't work, it requires
login and selecting the key from the account"

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftoffice/comments/1woutac/multiple_ms_of fice_2019_got_deactivated_today/

* * *

I know of at least 8 helpdesks that got hammered because of this today.
Got nailed myself. When opening any office app, it redirected to
office365 to pay / sign up, or enter a key.

Seems to be this It ran automatically around 00:09 on a Windows 11
system I have.

Click-to-Run Update Support
Successfully installed on 9/24/2026
Learn more
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/servicing/os/microsoft- 365/kb5002907-optional-update-for-out-of-date-microsoft-365-apps- installations>
KB5002907: Optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 Apps
installations

Putting the original key back restored operation immediately.

Microsoft India at work again.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

On Fri, 9/25/2026 1:29 AM, Nomen Nescio wrote:

"As in title. After inserting the key again thankfully it started
working. Glad we had listed keys that were activated on each machine, because OSPP.VBS wasn't showing anything.

Anyone else experienced this?

EDIT:

not only 2019... and sometimes pasting the key doesn't work, it requires login and selecting the key from the account"

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftoffice/comments/1woutac/multiple_ms_of fice_2019_got_deactivated_today/

* * *

I know of at least 8 helpdesks that got hammered because of this today.
Got nailed myself. When opening any office app, it redirected to
office365 to pay / sign up, or enter a key.

Seems to be this It ran automatically around 00:09 on a Windows 11
system I have.

Click-to-Run Update Support
Successfully installed on 9/24/2026
Learn more
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/servicing/os/microsoft- 365/kb5002907-optional-update-for-out-of-date-microsoft-365-apps- installations>
KB5002907: Optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 Apps
installations

Putting the original key back restored operation immediately.

Microsoft India at work again.

I did a quick check on this one, and based on the symptoms
people are seeing, this is really a mess. The MSFT employee who
did this, deserves a Bowling Trophy.

https://www.elevenforum.com/data/attachments/183/2x/183924-56b6f463b175dc541fb2f630ce030d89.jpg?hash=IuYRvDpSBZ

Paul
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

Paul wrote:

I did a quick check on this one, and based on the symptoms
people are seeing, this is really a mess. The MSFT employee who
did this, deserves a Bowling Trophy.

https://www.elevenforum.com/data/attachments/183/2x/183924-56b6f463b175dc541fb2f630ce030d89.jpg?hash=IuYRvDpSBZ

Since I use "permanent" versions of Microsoft Office from the 'olden days', where 2010 is my most recent from a college kid who had a $10 school offer,
I looked a bit into this to see if it was real, and, apparently it is real.

Apparently IT forums, Reddit, and Microsoft's own Q&A boards were flooded
with reports from system administrators and individual users whose
permanently activated, non-subscription versions of Microsoft Office (such
as Office 2016 and Office 2019) suddenly lost their activation status.

Opening Word or Excel abruptly shoved a paywall or a sign-in prompt in
front of users, telling them to buy Microsoft 365 or enter a product key.

While we often joke that Microsoft purposely tries to force people off perpetual licenses and onto recurring Microsoft 365 subscriptions, this specific incident seems, to me, and others, that it was a botched update.

The culprit tracked by users was apparently tied to automated Click-to-Run update behaviors/packages (such as components related to KB5002907).

As far as I can tell, the patch mistakenly "nuked" or failed to read valid local lifetime product keys, dropping Office into an unlicensed state.

Evidence that it was a bug rather than an intentional feature is that re-entering the original product key or logging back into the associated account successfully forced the software to recognize the license again.

Apparently, the bowling trophy Paul awarded the Microsoft employee who
handled this is well deserved as their update code broke validation logic.
--
Sometimes it takes a group of people to come up with the perfect solution.



--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

On 9/24/26 10:29 PM, Nomen Nescio wrote:

"As in title. After inserting the key again thankfully it started
working. Glad we had listed keys that were activated on each machine,
because OSPP.VBS wasn't showing anything.

Anyone else experienced this?

EDIT:

not only 2019... and sometimes pasting the key doesn't work, it requires login and selecting the key from the account"

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftoffice/comments/1woutac/multiple_ms_of fice_2019_got_deactivated_today/

* * *

I know of at least 8 helpdesks that got hammered because of this today.
Got nailed myself. When opening any office app, it redirected to
office365 to pay / sign up, or enter a key.

Seems to be this It ran automatically around 00:09 on a Windows 11
system I have.

Click-to-Run Update Support
Successfully installed on 9/24/2026
Learn more
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/servicing/os/microsoft- 365/kb5002907-optional-update-for-out-of-date-microsoft-365-apps- installations>
KB5002907: Optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 Apps
installations

Putting the original key back restored operation immediately.

Microsoft India at work again.

Whilst you are sorting this all out, recommend LibreOffice
to get them going again. They probably won't like it, muscle
memory and all, but at least it will get them going again.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

On 9/25/26 10:40 AM, Maria Sophia wrote:

Paul wrote:

I did a quick check on this one, and based on the symptoms
people are seeing, this is really a mess. The MSFT employee who
did this, deserves a Bowling Trophy.

https://www.elevenforum.com/data/attachments/183/2x/183924-56b6f463b175dc541fb2f630ce030d89.jpg?hash=IuYRvDpSBZ

Since I use "permanent" versions of Microsoft Office from the 'olden days', where 2010 is my most recent from a college kid who had a $10 school offer,
I looked a bit into this to see if it was real, and, apparently it is real.

Apparently IT forums, Reddit, and Microsoft's own Q&A boards were flooded with reports from system administrators and individual users whose permanently activated, non-subscription versions of Microsoft Office (such
as Office 2016 and Office 2019) suddenly lost their activation status.

Opening Word or Excel abruptly shoved a paywall or a sign-in prompt in
front of users, telling them to buy Microsoft 365 or enter a product key.

While we often joke that Microsoft purposely tries to force people off perpetual licenses and onto recurring Microsoft 365 subscriptions, this specific incident seems, to me, and others, that it was a botched update.

The culprit tracked by users was apparently tied to automated Click-to-Run update behaviors/packages (such as components related to KB5002907).

As far as I can tell, the patch mistakenly "nuked" or failed to read valid local lifetime product keys, dropping Office into an unlicensed state.

Evidence that it was a bug rather than an intentional feature is that re-entering the original product key or logging back into the associated account successfully forced the software to recognize the license again.

Apparently, the bowling trophy Paul awarded the Microsoft employee who handled this is well deserved as their update code broke validation logic.

I have a permanent copy of 2021 but I still took a few minutes to make sure I had the
license. CYA.
--
Mint 22.3, Thunderbird 153.3.1esr, Firefox 156.0.1
Alan K.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

On 25 Sep 2026, Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> posted some news:1196154$2m6f$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com:

Paul wrote:

I did a quick check on this one, and based on the symptoms
people are seeing, this is really a mess. The MSFT employee who
did this, deserves a Bowling Trophy.

https://www.elevenforum.com/data/attachments/183/2x/183924-
56b6f463b175dc541fb2f630ce030d89.jpg?hash=IuYRvDpSBZ

Since I use "permanent" versions of Microsoft Office from the 'olden
days', where 2010 is my most recent from a college kid who had a $10
school offer, I looked a bit into this to see if it was real, and,
apparently it is real.

Apparently IT forums, Reddit, and Microsoft's own Q&A boards were
flooded with reports from system administrators and individual users
whose permanently activated, non-subscription versions of Microsoft
Office (such as Office 2016 and Office 2019) suddenly lost their
activation status.

Opening Word or Excel abruptly shoved a paywall or a sign-in prompt in
front of users, telling them to buy Microsoft 365 or enter a product
key.

While we often joke that Microsoft purposely tries to force people off perpetual licenses and onto recurring Microsoft 365 subscriptions,
this specific incident seems, to me, and others, that it was a botched update.

The culprit tracked by users was apparently tied to automated
Click-to-Run update behaviors/packages (such as components related to KB5002907).

As far as I can tell, the patch mistakenly "nuked" or failed to read
valid local lifetime product keys, dropping Office into an unlicensed
state.

Evidence that it was a bug rather than an intentional feature is that re-entering the original product key or logging back into the
associated account successfully forced the software to recognize the
license again.

Apparently, the bowling trophy Paul awarded the Microsoft employee who handled this is well deserved as their update code broke validation
logic.

Supposedly there are two easy ways to fix it.

1 - Reenter the license key.
2 - Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features, change / repair the installation.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

On Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:09:38 -0700, T wrote:

On 9/24/26 10:29 PM, Nomen Nescio wrote:

"As in title. After inserting the key again thankfully it started
working. Glad we had listed keys that were activated on each machine, because OSPP.VBS wasn't showing anything.

Anyone else experienced this?

EDIT:

not only 2019... and sometimes pasting the key doesn't work, it requires login and selecting the key from the account"

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftoffice/comments/1woutac/multiple_ms_of fice_2019_got_deactivated_today/

* * *

I know of at least 8 helpdesks that got hammered because of this today.
Got nailed myself. When opening any office app, it redirected to
office365 to pay / sign up, or enter a key.

Seems to be this It ran automatically around 00:09 on a Windows 11
system I have.

Click-to-Run Update Support
Successfully installed on 9/24/2026
Learn more
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/servicing/os/microsoft- 365/kb5002907-optional-update-for-out-of-date-microsoft-365-apps- installations>
KB5002907: Optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 Apps
installations

Putting the original key back restored operation immediately.

Microsoft India at work again.

Whilst you are sorting this all out, recommend LibreOffice
to get them going again. They probably won't like it, muscle
memory and all, but at least it will get them going again.

If they don't have any VBA in their workbooks. Unless things have
changed since I last checked, Libre Office doesn't support VBA.
--
"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by
those who don't have it." --George Bernard Shaw
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy.anon-server

On 27 Sep 2026, Stan Brown <someone@example.com> posted some news:MPG.4523955955633c259904e0@news.individual.net:

On Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:09:38 -0700, T wrote:

On 9/24/26 10:29 PM, Nomen Nescio wrote:

"As in title. After inserting the key again thankfully it started
working. Glad we had listed keys that were activated on each
machine, because OSPP.VBS wasn't showing anything.

Anyone else experienced this?

EDIT:

not only 2019... and sometimes pasting the key doesn't work, it
requires login and selecting the key from the account"

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftoffice/comments/1woutac/multiple_m

s_of fice_2019_got_deactivated_today/

* * *

I know of at least 8 helpdesks that got hammered because of this
today. Got nailed myself. When opening any office app, it
redirected to office365 to pay / sign up, or enter a key.

Seems to be this It ran automatically around 00:09 on a Windows 11
system I have.

Click-to-Run Update Support
Successfully installed on 9/24/2026
Learn more
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/servicing/os/microsoft-
365/kb5002907-optional-update-for-out-of-date-microsoft-365-apps-
installations>
KB5002907: Optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 Apps
installations

Putting the original key back restored operation immediately.

Microsoft India at work again.

Whilst you are sorting this all out, recommend LibreOffice
to get them going again. They probably won't like it, muscle
memory and all, but at least it will get them going again.

If they don't have any VBA in their workbooks. Unless things have
changed since I last checked, Libre Office doesn't support VBA.

I had some calls on this very thing over the weekend. One had installed LibreOffice thinking their Office 2019 was gone. They were trying to
get some data sources to work, no luck. After digging around we found
the original office key card, brought up Excel, got prompted for 365 or
a key, entered the key and it was instantly working again.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2