Hi Folks,
a lot of low priced Windows 8.1 devices are coming up at the moment and mostly these devices include a Office 365 1-Year Subscription. But what happens if you got a second device coming with a second OEM subscription?
Story behind this question is quite simple, i got a Emdoor Surf 7 Tab before christmas and i enabled the Office 365 subscription. In January i got also a Archos Cesium 80 Windows 8.1 tablet coming with the same Office 365 subscription.. Both devices come with Windows 8.1 with Bing and a 1 Year Office 365 Personal License (1 Tablet and 1 PC) Now a big question came up… Will the activation create a second Office 365 subscription, expand the existing one or create a error? Before i start the Archos tablet the first time i tried to find some information’s in the TechNet and also other sources about the license handling but mostly i found nothing or complete nonsense…
So i tried it and here is the result…
If you got a second Windows 8.1 with Bing device incl. Office 365 and you have a subscription in place it will expand the subscription for one year. When i started the Surf 7 Tab it got a Office 365 running until 16th of December 2015 after i started the Archos Cesium 80 and installed Office 365 home the subscription was increased until 16 of December 2016. No second subcription… No error… Just working.
You should be aware about a few things:
1) The subscription type must be similar between the devices..
2) The trouble will start if the device amount will be larger than the license amount… As example.. I have now two Windows 8.1 Tablet’s coming with and using the Office 365 Personal subscription. This license cover two devices, what will happen if a 3rd device will raise up? Subscription until 2017 but i have to decide which tablet’s should use the subscription?
I believe Microsoft has done a great job with Windows 8.1 with Bing and Office 365 but there are still a few things that needs to be improved or better explained?
1) OEM license handling for Office 365 need to be better explained in general.
2) App installation to SD-Card/Office 365 target path selection… Office 365 will always install to c:/program files and this is a poor selection for typical Windows 8.1 with Bing devices and a 16GB e-MMC/HDD.
3) What is the deal if a company provides these devices to employees? Who owns the subscription? Office 365 Personal and Home is by default not a license for companies and the use in commercial environments is forbidden thru EULA.
From the price point… You pay something between 50 US$ – 80 US$ for a seperate one year Office 365 Personal subscription incl. 1TB OneDrive and 1h Skype World calls, if you pay 100 US$ or less for a Windows 8.1 Tablet incl. the subscription extension.. How much is the tablet? 😉 Can Android or IOS provide a similar deal?
Iam not sure how Microsoft will earn money in this way but for customers and the Windows 8.1 market share it’s really a great deal at the moment.
Want to get a better deal?
I’ve done a last test… You think this is already a great deal? But this deal can be done even better.
1) Install/Activate Office 365 Personal with the first device coming with Windows 8.1 + Bing and the Office 365 1-Year subscription, you receive the first 12 months.
2) Install/Activate Office 365 Personal with the second device coming with Windows 8.1 + Bing and the Office 365 1–Year subscription.
Now you have two Years Office 365 Personal for two devices (one User) incl. 1TB OneDrive and 1h Skype World Calls.. You agree? Now make it better… You need a paid Office 365 Home Premium Retail code for this…
3) Open your Office 365 Account and select “Enter a Office Key”. Now enter the more valuable Home Premium Retail Key.. What do you believe will happen? Yes… You’re right, it’s now 36 Months Office 365 Home Premium for 5 Users/Devices incl. 1TB OneDrive per User and 1h Skype World calls for the subscription owner. What did you pay? 2 Tablets and 1 Office Home Premium Retail Pack. Deal? This will make the most out of a low budget Windows 8.1 with Bing device.
Cheers
Michael
P.S.: It might be that Microsoft will change this in the future… But today this is how it works.