There are several different underlying causes that might end up causing the error 0X4004F00C: Note: Every potential fix below assumes that your license key is valid – None of the methods below will work if you have this issue with an invalid / pirated license key.
Running the Office Activation tool
As it turns out, this activation consistency is already being mitigated by Microsoft. In fact, the tech giant has already released 3 different troubleshooting utilities capable of dealing with the issue automatically (one for each Office version). Each of these utilities will hold a series of generic troubleshooting steps that can be applied automatically in case a recognizable scenario is discovered. If the investigation reveals a problem that is already covered by a repair strategy included in the troubleshooter, the utility will automatically apply the recommended fix. This potential fix was confirmed to work by a lot of affected users. If you want to pursue this method, follow the steps below to download a compatible Office Activation troubleshooter and use it to fix the 0X4004F00C error: In case you still end up seeing the 0X4004F00C error, move down to the next potential fix below.
Disabling / Uninstalling Proxy or VPN server (if applicable)
Similar to what might happen with the Windows Update component, the Activation module on Office is prone to blocking communications with the Activation server if it determines that you’re currently on a suspicious network. And as a lot of users have reported, this problem might be facilitated by a VPN client or Proxy server. This is way more common with Proxy servers (especially Asian-based ones). If this scenario is applicable to your particular situation, follow one of the guides below to disable VPN or Proxy solution that might be causing the problem.
Disabling the Proxy server
Disabling VPN Connection
In case you still end up seeing the 0X4004F00C, move down to the next potential fix below.
Uninstalling 3rd party firewall (if applicable)
Another potential culprit that might end up facilitating the apparition of the 0X4004F00C error is an overprotective 3rd party firewall that ends up blocking communications between your end-user computer and the Microsoft activation server. In most cases, this will occur due to a false positive. In this case, disabling the real-time protection of your active firewall will likely not be enough to stop this behavior from occurring. This happens because most firewalls impose hardcoded security restrictions, meaning the same rules will remain in place even if the firewall is disabled/closed. If you’re indeed dealing with a false positive facilitated by an overprotective firewall suite, you should be able to resolve the problem by uninstalling the current firewall program altogether and migrate to the built-in Windows firewall or to a more lenient 3rd party solution. If you are determined to do this, follow the instructions below to ensure that your firewall is not the culprit behind the 0X4004F00C error: In case you’re still encountering the same 0X4004F00C error, move down to the next potential fix below.
Reactivating the current Office key
As it turns out, the error 0X4004F00C is most commonly appearing for users that have the habit of frequently switching between devices with a single license subscription. Another common scenario is this error appearing for companies that regularly add and remove Office 365 tenants. In general, roamed credentials are the main cause of this error. In this case, you should be able to fix the issue by clearing license key data from 4 different locations in order to reset the current activation and then activating Office from a clean state. We will use an ‘ospp.vbs’ script to invoke the checking of the license status after uninstalling the keys corresponding to previous Office installations that might be currently causing the error 0X4004F00C. If you are determined to go through with this procedure, follow the instructions below: In case the same problem is still occurring, move down to the next potential fix below.
Reinstall the Office Installation
If none of the potential fixes above have worked for you, it’s very likely that you’re actually dealing with a corrupted Office installation. Several affected users that were also encountering the 0X4004F00C error have managed to get the issue resolved by repairing the entire Office installation using the Online Repair method (not the Quick Repair option) Attempt to do this too and restart your computer to see if the activation is successful after your Office installation has been repaired. Here’s a quick guide that will show you how to initiate an Online Repair of your current Office installation. Note: This is applicable to every Office version (including Office 365)
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