Microsoft 365 - Microsoft 365 Installation Information
For complete details on the different versions (including licensing) of Microsoft 365 suite of applications available, please review Microsoft Office for UW-Owned and Personally-Owned Computers at UW-Madison. Note: If you are on a departmental managed computer, contact your departmental IT support staff instead to make sure the correct version of Office is installed on your device.
The instructions below are for personal (non-shared) computers:
Important: If you travel to areas where you do not have access to internet for more than 30 consecutive days please read this note
- Departmentally owned computer (which requires activation every 180 days):
- Windows
- IT staff can download and install from the Campus Software Library > Microsoft for UW-owned Computers > Microsoft Office for Windows Shared Machines (C2R Installers) > Office 2019 Pro Plus for Kiosks.
- Mac
- IT staff can download and install the Office 2019 installation package from Microsoft, then download and run the serializer from the Campus Software Library > Microsoft for UW-owned Computers > Microsoft Office for Macintosh > Volume License Serializer for Office 20xx for Mac.
- Personally owned computer: use a free office suite such as OpenOffice or LibreOffice as a backup.
Important: Why should you install and use Microsoft 365 for Enterprise/ProPlus/Subscription version from the Microsoft 365 portal?
- Microsoft 365 for Enterprise/ProPlus/Subscription version: receives feature and security updates.
- Professional Plus/2016/2019/2021/Volume License versions: only receive security updates.
- Preview and Beta Software in M365 - The Preview channel for Microsoft 365 apps and any pre-release clients are considered use at your own risk. At this time UW-Madison Microsoft 365 Service Team is unable to offer support for unreleased versions of client software. If you wish to use pre-release software and contact the DoIT Help Desk for support, you will be asked to reinstall the current version of the software before any troubleshooting and assistance can be provided. Please contact Microsoft directly by using the feedback feature inside of the client if you wish to provide feedback directly.
- Release notes for Current Channel.
How to Download and Install Microsoft Applications.
Important
- If you use Microsoft Project and/or Visio, please make sure to review the compatibility article before installing the Microsoft suite.
- You will need administrator rights to your computer to install any software. If you do not have these rights, contact your local administrator. Also, make sure to update the software after completing the installation - this will ensure that your software is up-to-date for it most important security patches.
- If you have a previous version of Office installed, please perform a complete uninstall before installing the latest version.
- OneNote desktop client will no longer be included within Office 365/2019 suite and instead will be a standalone application. If you would like to use OneNote desktop client, review Microsoft's article.
Windows OS
- Log into Microsoft 365 portal using your netid@wisc.edu address and NetID credentials.
- Click Install Office button.
- Follow the prompts to install the software. You will be prompted to enter your account credentials (NetID/password) to activate the software.
Note: During the configuration Office/Outlook, If you are prompted to "add this account to Windows", click skip for now.
Mac OS
- Log into the Microsoft 365 portal.
Note: if you are prompted to sign into your Office 365 email account, enter you netID@wisc.edu address. - Within the "My account" screen, click Install Office button.
- When prompted, run the installer and continue with the installation/configuration process.