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Frequently Asked Questions from Customers
M365 is an abbreviation for Microsoft 365. Microsoft has gradually shifted the naming from ‘Office 365’ to ‘Microsoft 365’ to represent a broader suite than just Office apps, including cloud services and additional features. For SEO and search habits, ‘Office 365’ remains a widely used term, but the product is Microsoft 365.
It depends on the plan, but the idea is this: you install the apps on your devices and use them as normal; the account and cloud services help you synchronise and collaborate, but your day-to-day work remains the same as with Office apps. Microsoft 365 plans include apps and services linked to your account and updated over time.
Many users rely on external tools for notes, file sharing, collaboration, or presentations. With Microsoft 365, you can often ‘reduce’ the number of tools you need because you have an integrated ecosystem: Office apps, cloud services, and collaboration components (varies by plan). The main advantage is less fragmentation: same files, same account, more consistent workflows.
The safest method is to always use official channels: log in to the Microsoft account associated with the licence and start downloading the official installer. Microsoft documents the download/installation procedure for PCs and Macs in its support section.
Download the official installer, launch it, complete the installation, and then open an application (Word/Excel) to log in with your account: this sequence covers most cases. If the operating system is not supported, the installation may fail.
Yes: on Mac, install the apps and then log in with the account associated with your subscription. Once verification is complete, the apps will be active and you can create/edit without any limitations imposed by the plans. Please note the macOS requirements: Microsoft states that in order to receive updates, you must remain on supported macOS versions.
In the ‘home’ world, there are plans such as Personal (1 user) and other plans with different logic. In general, the following changes: number of users, number of devices, cloud storage and included features. The official Microsoft 365 Personal page describes the plan setup (one person, multi-device use, 1 TB cloud storage).
Rule of thumb: buy where you find clear conditions on what you receive (account or product key), duration, renewal and support. Be wary of sites that do not indicate anything about their origin or that promise ‘lifetime’ without specifying the actual duration and conditions. In the ESD Codes product sheets, for example, there are operational notes on activation and conditions (where applicable).
Promotions change over time: there may be offers linked to specific periods, packages or durations. The correct way to evaluate them is to compare the duration, total cost and what the plan actually includes (cloud, apps, number of devices), avoiding shortcuts based solely on price.
With Microsoft 365, we are basically talking about subscriptions. If you see the words ‘lifetime’, always check the duration and conditions in the tab: some offers may explicitly indicate the duration (e.g. 6 months/1 year) and restrictions such as ‘non-renewable’ or ‘account provided’.
Always compare:
- actual duration,
- what you receive (account vs code/standard subscription),
- services included (cloud, app, extras),
- renewal options,
- compatibility and requirements.
This is the only way to compare the “total cost” and “real value”, not just the price on the page.
Yes, it is good practice. Although the cloud reduces the risk of loss due to PC failure, backups are still useful for human errors (deletions), versions, critical files and email archives. A simple strategy: save your work files in a synchronised location and keep a regular offline copy of your most important documents; for emails, consider exporting/archiving when handling large volumes or sensitive content.
If you are a single person and want to use Office on multiple devices, a Personal plan is often the most straightforward choice. If, on the other hand, you are part of a family or have multiple users, it is generally advisable to consider multi-user plans (not necessarily included in this category) and compare costs and cloud features.