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Home » Microsoft Office: We Couldn’t Contact the Server Error 0x80072EFD

Microsoft Office: We Couldn’t Contact the Server Error 0x80072EFD

By: Waseem Patwegar

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

We Couldn’t Contact the Server Error 0x80072EFD in Office

As mentioned above, Microsoft Office Activation Error 0x80072EFD usually appears with a 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.

So, let us go ahead and take a look at some of the methods that are known to fix Microsoft Office Activation errors 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, simply try to run any Microsoft Office program (Word, Excel, Power Point) as Administrator.

Type Name of the Microsoft Office program in Search bar > right-click on the Office Program in search results and click on Run as Administrator option.

Run Microsoft Word As Administrator

On the confirmation pop-up, click on Yes to Run the problematic Microsoft Office Program as Admin.

2. Fix Date & Time On Your Computer

Microsoft Office activation can fail if the date and time settings on your computer are not correct.

Right-click on Time & Date icon located in the taskbar and click on Adjust date/time option in the menu that appears.

Adjust Date and Time Option in Windows 10

If Time & Date Icon is missing on your computer, click on Start > Settings > Time & Language.

On the next screen, make sure that your Time Zone is correct and the Date and time as displayed is correct.

Date and Time Zone Setting Screen in Windows 10

If the time is not correct, you can refer to this article: How to Fix Slow or Incorrect Windows Computer Clock

3. Flush DNS & Renew IP Address

The problem could be due to network connectivity issues.

Open Command Prompt as Admin > type ipconfig /release and press the enter key. This will release the current IP Address of your computer.

ipconfig Release Command in Windows

Next, type ipconfig /flushdns and press the enter key > 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

Open any web browser on your computer and go to the Office 365 portal (https://portal.office.com). Login to your Microsoft account using your Email Address and Password linked with the subscription.

Make sure that a valid subscription of Microsoft Office is assigned or available in your user account.

5. Repair Microsoft Office

The problem of Microsoft Office not activating on your computer might be related to corrupted program files.

Open Control Panel > switch to “Large icons” view and click on Program and Features.

Programs and Features Option in Windows 10 Control Panel

On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and click on the Repair option in the contextual menu.

Repair Microsoft Office Program in Windows 10

After the repair process is completed, restart your computer and see if you are still getting Microsoft Office Activation 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.

Go to Settings > Network and Internet > select the Proxy tab in left-pane. In the right-pane, disable Automatically detect settings option, located under ‘Automatic Proxy Setup’ section.

Disable Proxy Servers in Windows 10

On the same screen, scroll down and disable Use a Proxy server option under manual proxy section.

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.

Right-click on the Antivirus Program icon in the system tray and click on Disable Auto Protect.

Disable Auto Protect Option in Norton Antivirus Program

Next, select the time period up to which you want to disable Antivirus program and click on OK.

Disable Antivirus Auto Protection on Windows PC

8. Uninstall and Reinstall Microsoft Office

Uninstalling and Reinstalling Microsoft Office is another method that has helped some users fix Microsoft Office activation error.

Open Control Panel > switch to Large Icons view and click on Program and Features.

Program and Features Option in Control Panel

On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and click on Uninstall.

Uninstall Microsoft Office

After Microsoft Office is uninstalled, Restart your computer and Re-install Microsoft Office program back on your computer.

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