Toconfigure and perform deployments of Office LTSC 2021, including Project and Visio, for users in your organization, you use the Office Deployment Tool (ODT). The Office Customization Tool (OCT) that you previously used for Windows Installer (MSI) is no longer used.
The installation files for Office LTSC 2021 are available on the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet instead of on the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). You can install Office LTSC 2021 directly from the Office CDN. Or, you can download the installation files from the Office CDN to a location on your local network, such as a shared folder, and install Office LTSC 2021 from that location. You can use different methods for different sets of devices in your organization. Whichever method you choose, you use the ODT.
Installing directly from the Office CDN requires the least amount of administrative effort and is recommended. But you might have constraints that prevent you from installing directly from the internet. For example, some devices might not have connectivity to the internet or you might have limited bandwidth to the internet.
After you download the Office Deployment Tool, double-click on the officedeploymenttool executable (.exe) file to extract the ODT files. When you're finished, you should have several files: setup.exe and some sample configuration.xml files. For an Office LTSC 2021-specific sample, see Sample configuration.xml file to use with the Office Deployment Tool.
The setup.exe file is the ODT and is a command-line tool that supports downloading and installing Office LTSC 2021. The configuration.xml files are sample files to get you started. You use the configuration.xml file to provide settings for the ODT to use when downloading or installing Office LTSC 2021. The configuration.xml is a simple xml file that can be created and edited in any text editor, such as Notepad. You can name the file anything that you want, as long as it retains the xml file extension.
Once you have a copy of the ODT, you need to create a configuration.xml file. You can create multiple configuration.xml files to be used with the ODT. For example, you can create a configuration.xml file to download and install the 64-bit version of Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 in English. Then, you can create a different configuration.xml file to install the 32-bit version of Visio LTSC Professional 2021 in French. When you run the ODT from an elevated command prompt, you specify which configuration.xml file to use.
There are a series of settings in the configuration.xml file that you configure to customize the Office LTSC 2021 download or installation. The following table lists the most common settings to configure in the configuration.xml file.
We recommend that you uninstall any previous versions of Office before installing Office LTSC 2021. To help you uninstall versions of Office that use Windows Installer (MSI) as the installation technology, you can use the ODT and specify the RemoveMSI element in your configuration.xml file.
For more information about using RemoveMSI, see Remove existing MSI versions of Office when upgrading to Microsoft 365 Apps. Even though that article is about Microsoft 365 Apps, most of the information also applies to Office LTSC 2021.
To uninstall 2019 versions of Office, Visio, or Project from the device, use the Remove element. You use the Remove element because 2019 versions of Office, Visio, and Project are installed by using Click-to-Run, not Windows Installer (MSI).
Once you have a copy of the ODT and have created your configuration.xml file, you can download the Office LTSC 2021 installation files to your local network. To do that, open an elevated command prompt, go to the folder where you saved the ODT and the configuration.xml file, and type this command:
Once you have a copy of the ODT and have created your configuration.xml file (and downloaded the Office LTSC 2021 installation files to your local network, if necessary), you can install Office LTSC 2021. To do that, open an elevated command prompt, go to the folder where you saved the ODT and the configuration.xml file, and type the following command:
You can also use Microsoft Configuration Manager (current branch) to deploy Office LTSC 2021. The Office 365 Client Installation wizard steps you through the process and builds the configuration.xml file for you. There's an entry for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 in the wizard. On that same page, you can also select to deploy Project and Visio. To get to the wizard, in the Configuration Manager console, navigate to Software Library > Overview > Office 365 Client Management.
Office LTSC 2021 no longer includes the Teams client app. However, if the Teams client app was previously installed with Office LTSC 2021, it will continue to be automatically updated approximately every two weeks with new features and quality updates. The update process for Teams is different from the update process for other Office apps, such as Word and Excel. For more information, see Teams update process.
If you already redeemed a product key, you're simply reinstalling the apps, or you know you have an assigned license through work or school, you can skip ahead and go to the section sign in to download and install Microsoft 365 or Office. However, if this is the first time you're installing Microsoft 365 or Office, you may have some steps to do first. Expand the Learn more section below for more info.
If this is the first time you're installing Microsoft 365 or Office, you may have to complete a set of pre-installation steps or you may need to follow different steps than what's shown below. What you do depends on if your copy of Microsoft 365 or Office is a home or a business product and whether or not you have a product key that you still need to redeem, an account already associated with your product, or a pre-assigned license.
Go to
office.com/setup and sign in with an existing or new Microsoft account and then enter your product key to redeem it*. Redeeming your key is what adds your Microsoft account to Microsoft 365 and you only have to do this once. If you're renewing a Microsoft 365 subscription with a new product key, use the same Microsoft account you previously associated with your expired version subscription.
Learn how to check this in What Microsoft 365 business product or license do I have? or if you're a Microsoft 365 admin responsible for assigning licenses to people in your organization, see Assign licenses to users.
Once you verify you have a license, anytime you need to install or reinstall Microsoft 365 you can go straight to the section below, Sign in to download Office and select the tab for steps to install on a PC or Mac. You'll sign in with your work or school account for these versions of Microsoft 365.
The 64-bit version is installed by default unless Microsoft 365 or Office detects you already have a 32-bit version of Microsoft 365 or Office (or a stand-alone app such as Project or Visio) installed. In this case, the 32-bit version of Microsoft 365 or Office will be installed instead.
To change from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version or vice versa, you need to uninstall Microsoft 365 first (including any stand-alone Microsoft 365 apps you have such as Project of Visio). Once the uninstall is complete, sign in again to
www.office.com and select Other install options, choose the language and version you want (64 or 32-bit), and then select Install. (See Install Visio or Install Project if you need to reinstall those stand-alone apps.)
Your install is finished when you see the phrase, "You're all set! Office is installed now" and an animation plays to show you where to find Microsoft 365 applications on your computer. Select Close.
The What's New window opens automatically when you launch Word. Click Get Started to start activating. If you need help activating Microsoft 365 or Office, see Activate Microsoft 365 or Office for Mac. If activation fails, see What to try if you can't install or activate Microsoft 365 or Office for Mac.
If you have an home product and bought Microsoft 365 or Office at a retail store or online store, but don't have a Microsoft account, it's possible you haven't redeemed your product key yet (if you got one), or you missed the step for linking your recent purchase with an account. Do the following to link an account with Microsoft 365 or Office.
For an Office for home product, go to
office.com/setup and create a new Microsoft account or sign in with an existing one, then follow the remaining steps on that page such as entering your product key (if you have one). Your account is successfully associated with Microsoft 365 or Office when you see the page, My Office Account followed by your Microsoft account email address, and a button to install the apps. Select the PC or Mac tabs above to help you with the rest of the install process.
After signing in with your work or school account you don't see an option to install the desktop applications on the Microsoft 365 home page, go directly to the Microsoft 365 Software page instead. Select the language and bit-version you want (PC users can choose between 32-bit and 64-bit), and then click Install. See Step 2 and 3 on the PC or Mac tabs above to help you with the rest of the install process.
If you still don't see an option to install Microsoft 365 on the Microsoft 365 Software page, it's possible your admin hasn't assigned a license to you. Find out if you have a license to install Microsoft 365.
If you're trying to sign in with your work or school account to
www.office.com and your sign in is blocked, it likely means your Microsoft 365 administrator set up a security policy that's preventing you from signing in to that location.
To install Microsoft 365, try signing in directly to the Microsoft 365 Software page instead. Select the language and bit-version you want (PC users can choose between 32-bit and 64-bit), and then click Install. See Steps 2 and 3 on the PC or Mac tabs above to help you with the rest of the install process.
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