Personal Or Home: Which Office Is Yours?

Microsoft Office is a suite of applications that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more. It is available as a one-time purchase or as a subscription service. The subscription service, formerly known as Office 365, offers two main plans: Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home. The key difference between the two plans is that Personal is for a single user, while Home is for a family or small group of users. Both plans offer an identical suite of apps and services for non-commercial use, including premium desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, as well as OneNote. Additionally, both subscriptions include OneDrive and Skype.

Check if you have local admin rights to install Office

To check if you have local admin rights to install Office, you must first ensure that you are an administrator on the computer. Here are some ways to check if you have administrator privileges:

Check via Settings

• Open the Windows System Settings.
• Open the Accounts tab in the left pane.
• Check the user profile section. You will see an "Administrator" tag if the account has administrator rights.

Check via Control Panel

• Open the Windows Control Panel.
• Click on "User Account".
• Click on "User Accounts" again to view all the user account settings.
• Locate your user account name in the right pane and check for the "Administrator" tag.

Check via Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell

• Press the Win key and type "cmd" or "powershell".
• Right-click the Command Prompt or PowerShell option and select "Run as administrator".
• Type the following command and press Enter to view all the user accounts on your computer: "net user".
• Type the following command and press Enter to view account details: "net user accountname". Replace "accountname" with the user account name for which you want to find the account type.
• Scroll down and locate "Local Group Membership" to check the account status as "User" or "Administrator".
• Type "exit" and press Enter to close the Command Prompt.

Check via Local Users and Groups

• Press Win + R to open Run.
• Type "lusrmgr.exe" and click OK to open the Local Users and Groups snap-in.
• Select the "Groups" option.
• In the right pane, double-click on "Administrators".
• In the new dialog box, you can view all the users with administrative access under "Members".

If you are not an administrator, you can request admin privileges from the person who has administrator rights on your computer. Alternatively, during the Office installation, the administrator will be prompted to enter their username and password to grant permission.

Check if your Microsoft account is personal or business

Microsoft has two different divisions handling its services and licenses. The two types of accounts – personal and business (also known as "work or school") – are completely separate from each other.

The login name for both systems is an email address. If you have the same email address for both your personal and business accounts, you will need to change the password for one of them to avoid confusion.

For a business account:

• Open up a browser in incognito mode. In Chrome, click on the three dots in the upper right corner, then click on "New incognito window."
• Go to https://mail.office365.com and type in your business email address and password.
• If you log in and see your mailbox, congratulations! That's your Microsoft business account.

For a personal account:

• Close the browser windows, then re-open a new incognito window.
• Go to the main login page for personal accounts, https://account.live.com/.
• Type in your Microsoft personal credentials. (If you're unsure where to start, you might be able to check the email address in Windows 10 Settings / Accounts.)
• Keep trying until you know your Microsoft personal account credentials with certainty.

To find out which account includes your Office license:

Open Word or Excel and click on File / Account. The email address will likely be shown in the right column. That may be enough to identify if it's your business or personal account.

If you're still unsure, close your browser, then reopen a window in incognito mode. Go to www.office.com and log in with one of the accounts. Click on the icon in the upper right / My Account / Subscriptions. If you have an active subscription, you'll see it listed. Try it again with the other account to double-check.

Compare Office 365 Home and Personal plans

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a subscription service that ensures you always have the most up-to-date productivity tools from Microsoft. There are plans for home and personal use, as well as for businesses, schools, and non-profits.

Microsoft 365 Personal

The Microsoft 365 Personal plan is for a single user. It includes:

• Premium desktop versions of core office apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
• The ability to fully install the apps on your computer and download them to an unlimited number of Android, iOS, and Windows devices (with a limit of five devices active at one time).
• 1 TB of cloud storage with OneDrive.
• 60 minutes of Skype calls to mobile phones and landlines worldwide each month.
• Publisher and Access (PC only).

Microsoft 365 Home

The Microsoft 365 Home plan is for a family or small group of users. It includes:

• Premium desktop versions of core office apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
• The ability to fully install the apps on your computer and download them to an unlimited number of Android, iOS, and Windows devices (with a limit of five devices active at one time).
• 1 TB of cloud storage with OneDrive for each user (up to 6 TB for the whole group).
• 60 minutes of Skype calls to mobile phones and landlines worldwide for each user each month.
• Publisher and Access (PC only).

Comparison

The main difference between the two plans is the number of users and the amount of storage. The Microsoft 365 Personal plan is for a single user and offers 1 TB of cloud storage, while the Microsoft 365 Home plan can be shared with up to five additional people and offers 1 TB of cloud storage per user (up to 6 TB total).

The Microsoft 365 Personal plan is a better choice if you only need one account and want to save money, as it is $40 cheaper per year than the Microsoft 365 Home plan. However, if you need multiple users, the Microsoft 365 Home plan offers better value for money.

Both plans offer a month-long free trial, so you can try them out before deciding which one is right for you.

Check if you have an active internet connection

To check if you have an active internet connection on your Windows device, you can try the following methods:

Method 1: Using the Control Panel

• In the search tab, search for the Control Panel.
• Click on "View network status and tasks" below "Network and Internet". This displays the current network your system is connected to.
• Click on Connections to check the network status.
• Click on Details for more information about the network connection, such as the IPv6 address and subnet mask.

Method 2: Using Network & Internet Settings

• Go to Settings and click on "Network & Internet".
• Select "Ethernet" and then click on "Network and Sharing Center" to navigate to the page that displays the current network.

Method 3: Using the Network Connections Folder

• In the search bar, type "ncpa.cpl" and press enter.
• This will show all the connections, and you can identify the active connection by looking for the green icon.
• Right-click on the active connection and click on "Status" to see the status page.
• Click on Details for more information.

Method 4: Using Command Prompt

• In the search bar, type "cmd" (Command Prompt) and press enter.
• In the Command Prompt window, enter the following commands to view all current active connections:

• "netstat -a" displays all active connections, including protocol, source and destination addresses, port numbers, and connection status.
• "netstat -b" shows the executable involved in creating each connection or listening port.
• "netstat -n" displays similar information as "netstat -a" but with IP addresses instead of names.
• "netstat /?" shows all the available options for the "netstat" command.

These methods will help you check your active internet connection on a Windows device.

Check if your Microsoft Windows is activated

To check if your Microsoft Windows is activated, you can follow these steps:

For Windows 11:

• Select the Start button, then select Settings > System > Activation. Your activation status will be listed next to "Activation".
• Check the activation status messages on the Activation page:

• Windows is activated: Your Microsoft account is not linked. Follow the instructions to link your account.
• Windows is activated with a digital license: Your Microsoft account is not linked to your digital license. Follow the instructions to link your account.
• Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account: Your Microsoft account is already linked to your digital license.
• Windows is not activated: You will see an error message explaining the failure. You might need to purchase Windows 11 to activate.

For Windows 10:

• Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation. Your activation status will be listed next to "Activation".
• Check the activation status messages on the Activation page:

• Windows is activated: Your Microsoft account is not linked. Follow the instructions to link your account.
• Windows is activated with a digital license: Your Microsoft account is not linked to your digital license. Follow the instructions to link your account.
• Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account: Your Microsoft account is already linked to your digital license.
• Windows is not activated: You will see an error message explaining the failure. You might need to purchase Windows 10 to activate.

Using the Command Prompt or PowerShell:

You can also check the activation status of your Windows operating system using the command line:

• Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell.
• Enter the following command:

```

Slmgr /xpr

```

A dialog will indicate the operating system's activation status. If it is not activated, the dialog will show that it is in 'Notification mode'. If it is activated, it will show 'Permanently Activated' or the time until the activation expires if using a time-limited volume license.

Note: These steps are applicable for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Frequently asked questions