Tools to manage volume activation of Office - Office (2024)

  • Article

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs), the Software License Manager script (slmgr.vbs), and the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) can help you configure and test volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio. Before you read this article, we recommend that you read the following articles:

  • Overview of volume activation of Office
  • Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using MAK
  • Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active Directory.

The ospp.vbs script

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs) enables you to configure volume licensed versions of Office products, including Project and Visio. The ospp.vbs script is located in the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder. If you installed the 32-bit version of Office on a 64-bit operating system, go to the Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder.

Note

The ospp.vbs script doesn't work for Microsoft 365 Apps or subscription versions of Project and Visio. Instead, you can use a PowerShell script named vnextdiag.ps1. For more information, see Check the license and activation status for Microsoft 365 Apps.

Running ospp.vbs requires the cscript.exe script engine. To see the Help file, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

 cscript ospp.vbs /?

The general syntax is as follows:

cscript ospp.vbs [Option:Value] [ComputerName] [User] [Password]

Option Specifies the option and value to use to activate a product, install or uninstall a product key, install and display license information, set KMS host name and port, and remove KMS host name and port. The options and values are listed in the tables in this section.

ComputerName Name of the remote computer. If a computer name isn't provided, the local computer is used.

User Account that has the required permission on the remote computer.

Password Password for the account. If a user account and password aren't provided, the current credentials are used.

Important

Before you run the ospp.vbs, ensure that:

  • If you want to run the script on a remote computer, the Windows firewall allows Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) traffic on the remote computer.
  • The user account you will use is a member of the Administrators group on the computer on which you run the script.
  • You run ospp.vbs script from an elevated command prompt.

Global options for ospp.vbs

Global optionDescription
/actActivates installed Office product keys.
/inpkey:valueInstalls a product key (replaces existing key) with a user-provided product key. Value option is required.
/unpkey:valueUninstalls an installed product key with the last five digits of the product key to uninstall (as displayed by the /dstatus option). Value parameter is required.
/inslic:valueInstalls a license with user-provided path of the .xrm-ms license. Value parameter is required.
/dstatusDisplays license information for installed product keys.
/dstatusallDisplays license information for all installed licenses.
/dhistoryacterrDisplays the failure history for MAK/retail activation.
/dinstidDisplays Installation ID for offline activation.
/actcid:valueActivates product with user-provided Confirmation ID. Value parameter is required.
/rearmResets the licensing status for all installed Office product keys.
/rearm:valueResets the licensing status for an Office license with a user-provided SKU ID value. Value parameter is required.

Use this option with the SKU ID value specified by using the /dstatus option if you have run out of rearms and have activated Office through KMS or Active Directory-based activation to gain an another rearm.

/ddescr:valueDisplays the description for a user-provided error code. Value parameter is required.

The following table describes the ospp.vbs options for configuring the KMS client.

KMS client options for ospp.vbs

KMS client optionDescription
/dhistorykmsDisplays KMS client activation history.
/dcmidDisplays KMS client computer ID (CMID).
/sethst:valueSets a KMS host name with a user-provided host name. Value parameter is required.

This sets HKLM\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform\KeyManagementServiceName (REG_SZ).

/setprt:valueSets a KMS port with a user-provided port number. The default port number is 1688. Value parameter is required.

This sets HKLM\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform\KeyManagementServicePort (REG_SZ).

/remhstRemoves KMS host name and sets port to default. The default port is 1688.
/cachst:valueAllows or denies KMS host caching. Value parameter is required (TRUE or FALSE).
/actype:value(Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets volume activation type. Value parameter is required.

Values: 1 (for Active Directory-based), 2 (for KMS), 0 (for both).

/skms-domain:value(Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records can be found. This setting has no effect if the specific single KMS host name is set by the /sethst option. Value parameter is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) and is required.
/ckms-domain(Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Clears the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records can be found. The specific KMS host is used if it's set by the /sethst option. Otherwise, auto-discovery of the KMS host is used.

Scenarios that use ospp.vbs

The following scenarios assume that you're running ospp.vbs in an elevated command prompt.

Note

Any changes that you make affect only the Office client products. You have to configure the Windows client separately by using the slmgr.vbs script.

To change the product key to a MAK key on a remote computer

  1. If the remote computer is named contoso1, run the following command to enter the product key. This assumes that you have administrator credentials on the remote computer. If your credentials on the remote computer differ from your logon name and password, you must type your logon name and password at the command line, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx contoso1
  1. To activate the remote computer, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /act contoso1

To diagnose KMS activation errors

  1. If the computer has the KMS client key installed, check the licensing status. To do this, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /dstatusall
  1. To check the KMS activation history, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms
  1. To trigger activation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /act
  1. Check the error message for error code 0xC004F042. If in the notification dialog boxes you see an error code that is shown to users, you can also use that code to check the error message. To do this, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /ddescr:0xC004F042

To turn on or off KMS host caching on the KMS client

  1. On the KMS client computer, to turn on caching, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:TRUE
  1. On the KMS client computer, to turn off caching, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:FALSE

To test KMS host name, and then set to auto-discovery

  1. If you're testing a KMS host named kmstest.contoso.com, and you want to specify it in the KMS client, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:kmstest.contoso.com

Note

If you change the default port on the KMS host computer, you must run ospp.vbs with the /setprt option. For example: cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1750

  1. To trigger activation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /act
  1. To check the KMS activation history to see whether the host was successfully contacted, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms
  1. Now you want this KMS client to use Domain Name System (DNS) for auto-discovery of the production KMS host. To remove the KMS host name, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
cscript ospp.vbs /remhst

The slmgr.vbs script

The Software License Manager (slmgr.vbs) script, located in the Windows\system32 folder, is used to configure and retrieve volume activation information for the Office KMS host and the Windows host. For more information, see Configuring KMS Hosts for Windows.

You can run the script locally on the target computer or remotely from another computer. You have to be an administrator to use the script. If a standard user runs slmgr.vbs, some license data might be missing or incorrect, and many operations are prohibited.

The slmgr.vbs script can use the Windows-based script host, wscript.exe, or the command-based script host, cscript.exe, and administrators can specify which script engine to use. If no script engine is specified, slmgr.vbs runs by using the default script engine, wscript.exe. We recommend the cscript.exe script engine.

You must restart the Software Licensing Service for any changes to take effect. To restart the Software Licensing Service, use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Services snap-in or run the following command:

net stop sppsvc && net start sppsvc

The slmgr.vbs script requires at least one parameter. If you run the script without any parameters, it displays Help information. The following table lists slmgr.vbs command-line options, and a description of each. Most of the parameters in the table configure the KMS host computer. However, the parameters /sai and /sri are passed to KMS clients after the KMS clients contact the KMS host computer. The general syntax of slmgr.vbs is as follows (assuming you're using the cscript.exe as the script engine):

 cscript slmgr.vbs [ComputerName] [User] [Password] [Option]

ComputerName Name of the remote computer. If you don't provide a computer name, the local computer is used.

User Account with required permission on the remote computer.

Password Password for the account. If you don't provide a user account and password, current credentials are used.

Option Options are shown in the following table.

Slmgr.vbs command options

OptionDescription
/ ipk ProductKeyInstalls the product key for Windows (default) or other application identified by the product key.
/ ato ActivationIDActivates the KMS host for Windows (default), or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided.
/ dti ActivationIDDisplays the Installation ID that is used for telephone activation of the KMS host computer for Windows (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided. You enter the Installation ID into the telephone to receive the Confirmation ID, which is used for activating the KMS host computer by using the /atp parameter.
/ atp ConfirmationID ActivationIDAfter the Confirmation ID is received, activates the KMS host for Windows (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided.
/ dlv ActivationIDDisplays detailed license information for Windows (default), or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided.

For example, run the following command at the elevated command prompt in the Windows\system32 folder to get the status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C

/ dli ActivationIDDisplays license information for Windows (default), or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided.
/ upk ActivationIDUninstalls the product key for Windows (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided.

CAUTION: If you intend to uninstall the product key for Office, for example, and forget to enter the Activation ID, all installed product keys are uninstalled. This includes the product key for Windows.

/ xpr ActivationIDDisplays the expiration date for the current license state.
/ sprt PortNumberSets the TCP communications port on a KMS host computer. It replaces PortNumber with the TCP port number to use. The default setting is 1688.
/ cdnsDisables automatic DNS publishing by a KMS host computer.
/ sdnsEnables automatic DNS publishing by the KMS host computer.
/ cpriLowers the priority of KMS host computer processes.
/ sai ActivationIntervalChanges how often a KMS client attempts to activate itself when it can't find a KMS host computer. It replaces ActivationInterval with a value expressed in minutes. The default setting is 120 minutes.
/ sri RenewalIntervalChanges how often a KMS client attempts to renew its activation by contacting a KMS host computer. It replaces RenewalInterval with a value expressed in minutes. The default setting is 10080 minutes (seven days). This setting overrides the local KMS client settings.

Note

  • Activation ID for Office LTSC 2021: 47F3B983-7C53-4D45-ABC6-BCD91E2DD90A
  • Activation ID for Office 2019: 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
  • Activation ID for Office 2016: 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7

Slmgr.vbs command options (Active Directory-based activation)

The following table shows the command options for activating an AD DS forest by using Active Directory-based activation.

OptionDescription
/ ad-activation-online ProductKeyActivates an AD DS forest through the user-provided product key.
/ ad-activation-apply-get-iid ProductKeyDisplays installation ID for AD DS forest.
/ ad-activation-apply-cid ProductKey ConfirmationIDActivates an AD DS forest through the user-provided product key and the Confirmation ID.

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) provides a graphical user interface to manage volume activation. For more information, see Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) technical reference.

Note

Office LTSC 2021 and Office 2019 require at least VAMT 3.1.

Related articles

  • Overview of volume activation of Office
  • Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using MAK
  • Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active Directory
Tools to manage volume activation of Office - Office (2024)

FAQs

Tools to manage volume activation of Office - Office? ›

The VAMT can manage volume activation by using MAK or Key Management Service (KMS). It's a standard Microsoft Management Console

Microsoft Management Console
You use Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to create, save and open administrative tools, called consoles, which manage the hardware, software, and network components of your Microsoft Windows operating system. MMC runs on all client operating systems that are currently supported.
https://learn.microsoft.com › system-management-components
snap-in.

What are the tools to manage volume activation of Office? ›

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp. vbs), the Software License Manager script (slmgr. vbs), and the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) can help you configure and test volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio.

What is the volume activation management tool? ›

VAMT is a standard Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. VAMT can be installed on any computer that has a supported Windows OS version. Important. VAMT is designed to manage volume activation for all currently supported versions of Windows, Windows Server, and Office.

How to activate Office volume license? ›

On the Manage Activation Objects page, enter the KMS host key, which you got from the VLSC, and, optionally, give it a name. Then choose Next. On the Activate Product page, either activate the KMS host key online or by phone, and then follow the rest of the wizard instructions.

What is the tool to activate Office? ›

KMSPico: A widely recognized tool for Office activation. It helps in generating a genuine activation by emulating a KMS server on your local machine. This crack software ensures you have a valid license without the need for a serial key. Microsoft Toolkit: Another powerful tool for Office 2024 activation.

What are the 3 important productivity tools in MS office? ›

Microsoft Productivity Tools
  • Excel.
  • Word.
  • OneNote.
  • PowerPoint.
  • Teams.
  • Outlook.

What are volume activation services? ›

Volume activation is the process that Microsoft volume licensing customers use to automate and manage the activation of Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office, and other Microsoft products across large organizations.

How to use Vamt tool? ›

The VAMT host sends the installation IDs to Microsoft on behalf of the client products and obtains the corresponding confirmation IDs. The VAMT host then installs the confirmation IDs on the client products to complete their activation. When this method is used, only the VAMT host computer requires Internet access.

How to add key in volume activation management tool? ›

To add a product key

Open VAMT. In the left-side pane, right-click the Product Keys node to open the Actions menu. Select Add product keys to open the Add Product Keys dialog box.

What is the difference between kms and vamt? ›

The Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) is a tool. that can be used to perform volume activation using the KMS. KMS is an activation mechanism. You use VAMT to push out a license keys and activating online.

How do I check my Microsoft Office Volume license? ›

Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Billing > Your products > Volume licensing for the following features.
  1. Downloads & Keys under Products and Services.
  2. License Summary - under "Contracts"
  3. Relationship Summary - included in "Contracts"
  4. Open program Online Service Activation.

How does MS Office Volume Licensing work? ›

What is Microsoft Volume Licensing? Simply stated, licensing software in volume makes it easier and more affordable to run software on multiple computers within a single licensing organization. By acquiring software licenses through Microsoft Volume Licensing programs, you pay only for the software license.

What is the difference between KMS and MAK activation? ›

Key Management Service (KMS) allows organizations to activate systems within their own network. Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activates systems on a one-time basis, using Microsoft hosted activation services.

Which software is used to activate Microsoft Office? ›

KMSPico is a well-known software activator designed to bypass the official licensing system of Microsoft Office and Windows. By using KMS (Key Management Service) technology, it emulates a genuine activation server, enabling users to activate their Office software without purchasing a legitimate license.

How to activate license Microsoft Office? ›

If you bought a new Microsoft 365 product key card, or you received a product key when you bought Microsoft 365through an online store, go to Office.com/setup or Microsoft365.com/setup and follow the on-screen prompts. This is a one-time process that adds your new product to your Microsoft account.

How do I permanently activate Microsoft Office? ›

The KMSpico tool is a simple tool that permanently activates Microsoft Office. As long as you don't format your PC, even if you are connected to the internet or logged into your Microsoft Office account, you won't have to do the same steps to activate the license in the future.

Which tool can you use to manage activation from the command line? ›

At the heart of this process lies the “slmgr” command. It is a powerful tool also known as the Software Licensing Management Tool. This command lets users go through the complexities of Windows activation, by offering several options for managing activation tasks, including the use of product keys.

What are the four types of office productivity tools? ›

Common types of productivity software include database management systems (DBMS), word processors, spreadsheet applications, and graphics software.

What are the main tools of MS office? ›

Apps and services
  • Microsoft Teams.
  • Word.
  • Excel.
  • PowerPoint.
  • Outlook.
  • OneNote.
  • OneDrive.

What is the KMS tool for Windows activation? ›

To activate KMS on a client version of Windows, follow these steps:
  • Open an elevated Command Prompt window.
  • In the elevated Command Prompt window, run the following command to install the KMS key: cscript.exe slmgr.vbs /ipk <KMS_Key>
Mar 29, 2024

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Corie Satterfield

Last Updated:

Views: 5349

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (62 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Corie Satterfield

Birthday: 1992-08-19

Address: 850 Benjamin Bridge, Dickinsonchester, CO 68572-0542

Phone: +26813599986666

Job: Sales Manager

Hobby: Table tennis, Soapmaking, Flower arranging, amateur radio, Rock climbing, scrapbook, Horseback riding

Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.