Office 365: Unable to Associate Your Purchase

Many users who ordered an Office 365 subscription via the Mac App Store encountered the following error: Unable to Associate Your Purchase.

The error message further explains the Office 365 purchase was successful but the system was unable to associate it with a Microsoft account. Somehow, Microsoft is unable to pick up the subscription purchase from the Mac App Store although it’s visible in the system.

If you want to learn why that happens and how you can fix this error, keep on reading this guide.

How to Fix Office 365 Unable to Associate Your Purchase Errors

1. Sign out and log back in again

Many users confirmed that logging out and then logging back in solved the problem for them. Yes, this simple and quick method can work wonders.

It appears the first attempt at signing in is actually causing this error. Alternatively, you can follow these steps which involve skipping the sign-in part:

Quit the problematic Office program
Launch it again but this time skip the sign-in part
Now, sign out of the program
Close the program and open it again
Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services/ and sign in using the account associated with the Office license you bought from the App Store
Select the Activate button to complete the process.

Other users confirmed that clicking on Try Again, signing in, and then restarting the problematic Office program solved the problem for them and activated Office. You can also click the Restore Previous Purchase button and then sign in.

However, these quick fixes may not work for everybody. So, if you’re still getting the same error after logging back in, go to the next solution.

2. Cancel the subscription

Another solution is to simply cancel the subscription and purchase it directly from Microsoft, not from the Apple App Store.

Steps to cancel Office 365 subscription:

Go to account.microsoft.com/services
Enter your credentials to log in
Go to Services and Subscriptions
Select your Office 365 subscription and click on Manage
Select Cancel and confirm the cancellation.

Alternatively, you can contact Microsoft Support and they’ll take care of everything. They’ll help you cancel the initial subscription and validate your purchases.

3. Use the Keychain Access app

Launch Keychain Access on your Mac
Go to the File menu → select the Lock Keychain login option
Launch your Office program
You’ll be prompted for permission to access the keychain → enter your Mac admin password → click on Always Allow
Sign in again if prompted and use your Apple ID account associated with Office
After the Office program opened, click on Activate and wait until Office is activated.