Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 | Instant Download

PROS: -Improvements over some of the features of my Office 2013. Some features in the 2013 version that had become unsupported like the popup synonyms and dictionary work on the new version. The interface is improved over 2013. Although my first choice was to continue to use 2013, at least 2022 was available for me to buy, and I didn’t have to rent Office 365.

CONS:-I would have stayed with Office 2013 but Microsoft is determined to improve their revenue flow by forcing folks to either rent Office 365 or purchase an update to a newer version of Office.

I like Microsoft Office Home and Student 2022 just fine. It works quite well on my new computer, and the learning curve from Office 2013 was not steep. However….

Beginning of a mindless RANT:

I’ve been using Microsoft products for at least 40 years, and I’ve spent thousands of dollars on their software. I appreciate that Windows Home 11 is pretty much free now, and I’m pleased that I no longer have to pay $500 for their word processor. That said, I was very disappointed when I reached the end of the road on my old computer at Windows 10 because the computer wouldn’t run Windows 11. I gave in and upgraded to new machines to go to Windows 11. That was my choice. I don’t dislike Windows 11, and so far it works well for me, but when I tried to install Office 2013, I was not able to “ACTIVATE” it through my Microsoft account. I went farther back to my disk for Office 2007. Again, installation was not allowed. Instead, I was encouraged to rent software access for an online connection to Office 365 (A limited “free” version of Office 365 is available for strictly online use in order to compete with Google DOCS, but I would be out of luck if the internet goes down). I chose to purchase Office for Home and Student 2022 from Amazon instead.

I don’t change software or hardware often. For example, we still use Quicken 2013 primarily because we don’t like the “improvements” in the later versions that increase the price while removing features that we actually found useful, and of course, Intuit really wants you to rent Quicken. Office 2013 lasted me for 9 years on my old machine. If I had been paying $90/year rent for the software, then I would have spent more than $800. That’s more than 3 times what I paid to buy it. If I wanted to do online software, I could have used Google DOCs for free or the free version of Office 365 online.

The last straw for me in this rent software business model is that HP now requires an activation to set up their printer software. I have a friend who got a new laptop. She asked me to setup her printer on the new machine. Easy, I thought, even though I worried over, IMHO, HP’s sparse instructions, kludgy software, and an annoying and implacable website. I installed the print drivers despite the bad instructions and user interface. Then I was taken to an activation page. Activation Page! I tried to sign into her account from when she bought the printer for her old computer, but of course she didn’t remember the password she used. I tried to set up a new account for her but that was impossible because her email address was already in use. Now I will have to completely uninstall the print drivers, request a password reset and start all over again. And HP wants her to join their ink-of-the-month club by guessing how much ink she might use. A printer is a physical device. No one is going to make a copy of a printer and give it to their friends to use on an unauthorized machine. That is one of many reasons that I no longer buy HP printers after years of using nothing else. For my personal use, I switched to Brother, which is not as fast as an HP, but it orders its own ink from Amazon WHEN IT NEEDS IT.

Now ACTIVATION is being used by software companies to force you to discard your favorite old software and buy or rent their new versions. I understand that software companies reach a point where they no longer want to support older software, but I prefer to upgrade on my schedule, not theirs. And I do upgrade when I’m sure that the features I like will continue, that the new features make the upgrade worth the price, and that I won’t be held hostage to a new file structure or business model.

Therefore, it is my intention to NOT participate in rented software if I can avoid it. I never liked working on main frame computers using terminals and having to deal with centralized control. “Personal computers” were part of the revolution for me because they were personal. They stood alone for better or worse. They were not at the whim of some faceless tech. The current trend to re-centralize computing operations may appeal to many people, but I shall resist it so long as I can get away with it.

As a final aside, IMHO, the worst perpetrators in this new rental model are the Tax Preparation Software companies that do not clearly document what schedules are included in their entry/base rental price OR their entry/base purchase software. Only after you get started, do you discover that you have to pay a lot extra to get the one schedule that was not included. Imagine seeing that Schedule C is included but later you discover that it is only for Schedule C to enter income, you have to pay more if you want a Schedule C to include expenses. Oh, you can enter the expenses by hand, but then the company will not file your tax return that was part of your purchase price: you have to print the return and mail it in. Fortunately, I knew better than to buy anything so woefully described. Unfortunately, I had to buy a version of the software that included many more features than I needed just to be able to get Schedule C expenses AND free electronic filing. However, that was much cheaper than buying the next version down and then having to pay a large added fee to get the missing expense page. IMHO, the IRS is squeezing everyone into the online filing mode, and the software companies are coming up with all kinds of schemes to drive up the fees they can extract from their users. Don’t get me wrong, I love online filing, but the misleading ads by the software companies providing these services is open to more abuse than selling timeshares. If you are selling TAX software, then the ads should clearly state which Schedules your software will provide and note any limitations.

End of mindless RANT.

Thank you Microsoft for allowing me to buy Office for Home and Office 2022. I would have been looking for a different software brand rather than signup to rent Office 365.

The download process is very easy to follow. I love the versability of Word, Excel and Power Point

This computer has worked very well. The only problem I have had is that the combination of the shift key and ‘a’ does not produce a capital. It works for all of the letters except the ‘a’.

After at least two days of attempting to install Microsoft Office 2021 –one time purchase– for PC or Mac (I have a Macbook Pro), calling Microsoft for instructions (useless) and Apple Support, the installation is still not complete. I am,therefore, out $149.00 + tax and cannot return this product or obtain a refund. This is so very disappointing and, even more, extremely maddening. The description of the product states that it is for Mac, Android, PC, and Windows. SUCH IS NOT THE CASE. Amazon should not sell products that cannot be accessed or linked!! The BEST advice we got while searching for help was from Apple Support, who spent quite a lot of time with a knowledgeable friend and me on the actual phone (incredible in itself). She informed us that she couldn’t assist us because this is a Microsoft product. Calls to Microsoft resulted in a series of prompts — NONE OF WHICH HELPED IN ANY WAY. No access to Microsoft AT ALL. Be warned! There is absolutely no way to install this software onto a Mac. The closest you can get is a Microsoft message “pushing” purchase of the 365 (I want the 1- install type), and thus, it’s obvious that this particular PC/Mac installation “marriage” is dead at the altar. What do we have here? Another Microsoft scam in which Amazon is participating. I want credit on my account. I am not optimistic!

AMENDMENT to my scathing review in the above paragraph: Yes, I do want to emphasize that Microsoft was not helpful AT ALL. I was never able to load the software, as it has been made incompatible (or nearly so) for a Mac. HOWEVER, Aidan in Amazon customer support was VERY HELPFUL. He helped insure a refund, which has been posted to my account within 3 days. Apple Support couldn’t help, because this software is a Microsoft product. Somewhere out there in the ether is Microsoft support. No help at all. On the other hand, Amazon Support was courteous, helpful, and efficient. Thank you for helping.