You Can Now Transfer Office 2013 to a Different PC or User

Don’t we love it when companies listen to our complains and when they make changes to their policies, product agreements just to suit our needs? Such was the case with Microsoft and its latest Office – the 2013 edition. Many consumers (me included) were seriously angered by the fact that according to the latest policy change, we were not allowed to transfer 2013 to a different computer or users. Microsoft made this change, obviously, to stimulate sales.

The single way and condition under which we could transfer Office 2013, according to previous reglementations, was only if the PC failed under warranty. Thank God, Microsoft has listened to  the “feedback of the users” (I’d say outcry) and has decided to make some changes in order to restore our rights of transffering. Thus, we have the same rights as we did with Office 2010.

Transferring Office 2013 to different computer or user is possible once again

Here is how the official announcements sounds, right from Microsoft itself:

Based on customer feedback we have changed the Office 2013 retail license agreement to allow customers to move the software from one computer to another. This means customers can transfer Office 2013 to a different computer if their device fails or they get a new one. Previously, customers could only transfer their Office 2013 software to a new device if their PC failed under warranty.

While the licensing agreement text accompanying Office 2013 software will be updated in future releases, this change is effective immediately and applies to Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013 and the standalone Office 2013 applications. With this change, customers can move the software to another computer once every 90 days. These terms are identical to those found in the Office 2010 software.

This applies to the following versions of Office 2013:

• Office Home and Student 2013
• Office Home and Business 2013
• Office Professional 2013

Also, there is another condition that you need to be aware of – you can perform the change to different computer or user only once in 3 months (90 days). Don’t think about running two Office 2013 versions in the same time because this will be impossible – you won’t be able to install it elsewhere if you don’t firstly delete it entirely from its previous location.

And here’s how the official change in the agreement looks like:

Can I transfer the software to another computer or user? You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you, but not more than one time every 90 days (except due to hardware failure, in which case you may transfer sooner). If you transfer the software to another computer, that other computer becomes the “licensed computer.

However, if you want to have Office 2013 installed on more than 1 computer, maybe you should check out one of the Office 365 subscription which will allow you to deploy your copy on up to 5 units that run Windows or Mac. If you’ll encounter issues when trying  to transfer your Office 2013 to a new computer, you should try and contact the customer support, because it might take a while before these changes are legally made.