Technologies

Free Microsoft Office? Get Word, Excel and PowerPoint for $0 with these tips

Yes, you can use every tool in Microsoft 365 without spending a cent. Just note there are some caveats.

It’s likely you’ve needed access to a Microsoft Word document, a PowerPoint presentation or other basic tools from Microsoft 365 at least once — for either work, school or personal use. Although the software may seem like a necessity, its high price tag makes some people run the other way. If you don’t want to spend your money on Microsoft 365, don’t stress. There are a few ways to get the service for free.

Microsoft’s suite of productivity software contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. The collection typically costs between $70 and $100 every year for subscription access across devices and family members (as Microsoft 365). Microsoft also released a new stand-alone version of Microsoft Office for Windows and Mac, called Office Home and Student 2021 — for a flat price, no subscription required — on Oct. 5, the same day Windows 11 began its rollout.

Here are the versions of Office 365, Microsoft 365 and their apps that you can find online for free right now.

How to get Microsoft Office 365 free if you’re a student or a teacher

If you’re a student, teacher or faculty member with an active school email address, you are likely eligible to get access to Office 365 for free through Microsoft, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams and additional classroom tools.

All you have to do is enter your school email address on this page on Microsoft’s website: Get started with Office 365 for free. In many cases, you’ll be instantly granted access thanks to an automated verification process. If you attend an institution that needs to be verified, it might take up to a month to confirm your eligibility.

Recent graduates who want to stick with Office 365 can also get Microsoft 365 Personal for $12 for 12 months, with a valid school email address.

How to get Microsoft Office suite free if you’re anyone else

Anyone can get a one-month free trial of Microsoft 365 to try it out. However, it does require you to enter a credit card, and if you don’t cancel before the month is up, you’ll be charged $100 for a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365 Family (formerly called Office 365 Home).

The good news is if you don’t need the full suite of Microsoft 365 tools, you can access a number of its apps online for free — including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Calendar and Skype. Here’s how to get them:

Go to Office.com.
Log in to your Microsoft account or create one for free. If you already have a Windows, Skype or Xbox Live login, you have an active Microsoft account.
Select the app you want to use, and save your work in the cloud with OneDrive.

So what’s the catch for the free version?

You may be saying, wait a minute — if I can get all of those apps for free, why pay for Microsoft 365 in the first place? The reason is that the functionality of these apps is limited: They only run in your web browser, and you can only use them when you’re online. They also have fewer features than the full Microsoft 365 versions.

There are still a number of benefits, however, including the ability to share links to your work and collaborate in real time, similar to what G Suite tools allow. If you’re looking for basic versions of each of these apps, the free version should work well for you.

For more, check out all of the best new features in Windows 11 and what you need to know about upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

Technologies

Yes, Trump’s New 25% Apple Tariff Could Drive Up iPhone Prices Even More. Should You Buy One Now?

Technologies

Trump to Apple: Build iPhones in the US or Face 25% Tariffs

The president is putting pressure on the world’s biggest tech company to move manufacturing stateside.

Even as Apple has been shifting some of its manufacturing and supply-chain strategies in recent months in response to US-imposed tariffs against China, the world’s biggest tech company has another tariff issue it may need to content with.

President Donald Trump posted on TruthSocial Friday that a tariff of «at least 25% must be paid by Apple» if the company doesn’t manufacture and build iPhones in the US.

The post reads in full:

I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the UnitedStates of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!

The post follows previous comments made by the president about Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he said, «I said to him, Tim, you’re my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion but now I hear you building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.»

Trump said at the time that Cook promised to increase iPhone manufacturing in the US, but experts have said that full iPhone production based in the US would take years and would probably not apply to some of the company’s more advanced iPhone models, which would still be primarily made in China.

Earlier this year, the US imposed steep tariffs against exports from China, but rolled back some of them for 90 days. An exemption was made for smartphones and computers, but it’s unclear if that will hold and for how long.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Why Amazon Is Giving Surprise Refunds for Years-Old Purchases (And If You’ll Get One)

Recent internal reviews at Amazon unleashed a wave of new refunds: Some are getting more than $1,000 back from purchases made up to 7 years ago.

Amazon buyers are reporting an influx of unexpected refunds from products they ordered months or even years ago, with one customer on LinkedIn saying he received a refund of $1,800 for a smart TV bought seven years ago. Others made similar comments about products bought long ago.

According to Bloomberg, the new refunds are because of changes Amazon made after an internal review. That review may be related to a 2023 consumer lawsuit by a group of Amazon shoppers who claimed that Amazon had reversed their legitimate return-related refunds.

A representative for Amazon told CNET that only a small number of customers would be affected.

«Following a recent internal review, we identified a very small subset of returns where we issued a refund without the payment completing, or where we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us so no refund was issued,» an Amazon representative said. «There is no action required from customers to receive the refunds, and we have fixed the payment issue.»

In its latest earnings call, Amazon reported a one-time expense of $1 billion connected to refunds that the company had not yet sent out. These earmarked funds could be responsible for the sudden updates that shoppers are now seeing regarding purchases as far back as 2018.

Read more: I’ve Been Tracking Tariff Price Impacts Every Day and Here’s What I’ve Found So Far

If you receive an email about a surprise refund from Amazon orders, it may be related to these changes Amazon has made behind the scenes. You may still want to confirm it’s not fraud by logging into your Amazon account or making a quick service call, especially if it’s a larger amount like a payment for a TV. Scammers may be taking advantage of this news, too, so be wary of any notification that asks you for financial information, which Amazon should already have.