Microsoft Office Activation Error 0x80072EFD usually appears with an error message reading “We couldn’t contact the server. Please try again in a few minutes”.
In certain cases, Microsoft Office gets deactivated after Windows update and opening a Microsoft Office file results in error messages reading “Unlicensed Product”, Product Deactivated or We are sorry something went wrong, please try again later.
This problem can also occur if you are trying to activate Office 365 on a computer on which an older version of Microsoft Office was previously installed.
Microsoft Office Activation Error 0x80072EFD reading “We couldn’t contact the server” is known to occur in Office 365, Office 2016 and other versions of the program.
We Couldn’t Contact the Server Error 0x80072EFD in Office
You can find below the troubleshooting steps to deal with Microsoft Activation Error 0x80072EFD on a Windows computer.
1. Run Office as an Administrator
It is possible that Microsoft Office is not being activated on your computer due to permission issues. To fix this, try to run the Microsoft Office program (Word, Excel, Power Point) as an Administrator.
1. Type the Name of Microsoft Office program in the Search bar > right-click on the Office Program in search results and click on Run as Administrator option.
2. On the confirmation pop-up, click on Yes to Run the problematic Microsoft Office Program as Admin on your computer.
2. Fix Date & Time On Your Computer
Microsoft Office activation can fail, if the date and time settings on your computer are not correct.
1. Right-click on Time & Date icon located in the taskbar and click on Adjust date/time option in the menu that appears.
Note: If Time & Date Icon is missing on your computer, click on Start > Settings > Time & Language.
2. On the next screen, make sure that the Time Zone and the Date and time as displayed is correct.
3. If the time is not correct, you can refer to this article: Fix: Computer Showing Wrong Time in Windows 10/11
3. Flush DNS & Renew IP Address
The problem could be due to network connectivity issues on your computer.
1. Type Command Prompt in the search bar > right-click on Command Prompt App in the search results and click Run As Administrator option.
2. When prompted, enter your Admin Password to open Command Prompt As Admin.
3. On the Command Prompt screen, type ipconfig /release and press the enter key.
4. After this, type ipconfig /flushdns and press the enter key > next, type ipconfig /renew and press the enter key to renew the IP Address of your computer.
Close the Command Prompt window and try to activate Microsoft Office on your computer.
4. Check Microsoft Office Subscription
Make sure that your Microsoft Office subscription is still valid and has not expired.
1. Open any web browser on your computer and go to Office 365 portal (https://portal.office.com).
2. Login to your Microsoft account using the same Email Address and Password that is linked to your Microsoft Office subscription.
5. Repair Microsoft Office
The problem of Microsoft Office not activating on your computer might be related to corrupted program files.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command Window, type appwiz.cpl and click on OK.
3. On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and select the Repair option.
4. Patiently wait for the repair process to be completed.
After the repair process is completed, restart the computer and see if you are still getting this Microsoft office error on your computer.
6. Disable Proxy Servers
If you are using a Proxy Server (VPN), Microsoft Office activation error might be due to a misconfiguration in proxy connections or Microsoft’s website being unable to connect to your proxy server.
To confirm, disable the proxy server and see if you are able to activate Microsoft Office.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command window, type inetcpl.cpl and click on OK.
3. On Internet Properties screen, select Connections tab and click on LAN Settings button.
4. On the next screen, uncheck Use Proxy Server option in and make sure Automatically detect settings option is selected.
5. Click on OK to save this setting on your computer.
7. Temporarily Disable Antivirus Program
Sometimes, the antivirus program installed on your computer can end up blocking Microsoft’s websites, leading to Microsoft Office activation errors.
To confirm, temporarily disable Antivirus program on your computer and see if this helps in fixing the problem of Microsoft Office activation error on your computer.
8. Uninstall and Reinstall Microsoft Office
Uninstalling and Reinstalling Microsoft Office is another method that has helped some users fix Microsoft Office activation error.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command Window, type appwiz.cpl and click on OK.
3. On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and click on Uninstall.
After Microsoft Office is uninstalled, restart the computer and Re-install Microsoft Office program back on your computer.