Access 2024 (2 Viewers)

[Dave E]

I'm using Office Pro 2010 and thought I might upgrade to a non-subscription MS Office Pro Plus 2024.
Does anyone know if the Access version is a 2024 version and are there many changes since 2010?
For ~£30 it's a steal. Is it?

 

[GPGeorge]

"For ~£30 it's a steal. Is it?"

And why would you think that?

Is it because the full retail is $179.00 (US), or ~ £133?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/access/CFQ7TTC0PD0B

Perhaps, when a deal seems like a steal, it really is just that.

 

[DHookom]

I'm using Office Pro 2010 and thought I might upgrade to a non-subscription MS Office Pro Plus 2024.
Does anyone know if the Access version is a 2024 version and are there many changes since 2010?
For ~£30 it's a steal. Is it?

I have purchased one or more of these from legitimate sources and have had no issues.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I bought my Office 2021 LTSC at a considerably reduced price vs. outright retail. My source was a Canadian online vendor whom I was able to research (as to reputation). All items were of the appropriate "vintage" and I've had no problems at all. Do a little up-front diligence and you might find that the company is legitimate.

 

[GPGeorge]

The key is that you will be buying an LTSC licensed copy, with all the rights and restrictions that entails. Specifically, it is my understanding that LTSC licenses are NOT intended to be resold at retail. They are sold to an organization, to be used within that organization.

Overview of Office LTSC 2024 - Office

Provides IT admins with an overview of deploying Office LTSC 2024.

learn.microsoft.com

"Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024 is the most recent on-premises edition of Microsoft's core productivity apps, designed for use in disconnected or restricted environments. It's available to organizations through volume licensing agreements"

Microsoft Office | Microsoft Volume Licensing

Explore Microsoft Office licensing options. Empower your organization with essential tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to boost productivity and collaboration.

www.microsoft.com

"Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024 is the most recent on-premises edition of Microsoft's core productivity apps, designed for use in disconnected or restricted environments. It's available to organizations through volume licensing agreements"

Office LTSC Licensing Guidance

Explore licensing for Microsoft Office LTSC, designed for regulated environments with long-term support needs.

www.microsoft.com

You may interpret it differently, but I can't see any loophole that allows a vendor to purchase an LTSC license and then resell individual licenses to the general public under that agreement.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Nonetheless, I as an individual and clearly presenting myself as such got a 2021 LTSC Office license.

 

[RonPaii]

Nonetheless, I as an individual and clearly presenting myself as such got a 2021 LTSC Office license.

This from CoPilot.

ME > Is a 2021 ltsc office license legal to sold and used by individuals?

Here’s the clear, grounded answer based on what Microsoft publicly states and what your question implies.

Is an Office 2021 LTSC license legal for individuals to buy and use?​

Short answer:​

Office 2021 LTSC is not intended for individual consumers. It is a commercial, volume‑licensed product, and Microsoft sells it only to organizations — not to private individuals.

However, using it as an individual can be legal only if the license was originally obtained through legitimate volume licensing and properly transferred, which is rare and often not what grey‑market sellers offer.

What Microsoft says​

Microsoft’s own documentation states that Office LTSC is a product for commercial customers and is distributed through volume licensing.Consumer customers are instead directed to Office 2021 Home & Student or Home & Business editions.

This means:

• Microsoft does not sell LTSC licenses directly to individuals.
• LTSC licenses are perpetual, but tied to volume licensing agreements, which individuals normally cannot enter.

So is it legal to​

​

• The license comes from a legitimate volume licensing agreement.
• The seller has the legal right to resell it (e.g., in the EU, used software resale is allowed under specific conditions).
• The license transfer includes proper documentation proving legitimacy.

​

• The license is a “key-only” sale with no documentation.
• It comes from MSDN, education, or corporate keys being illegally resold.
• It is a MAK key being sold repeatedly (common scam).
• It is advertised as “lifetime” or “retail” — LTSC is neither.

Most cheap LTSC keys online fall into the illegal or non‑compliant category.

 

[GPGeorge]

I think it's a grey area and most such reseller offers probably do skirt the edges of their licensing agreements with Microsoft.

On a different, but related topic. I am now party to two different class action lawsuits against AI companies for downloading books from pirated online libraries. Basically, the online pirates stole the books (mostly as PDFs) and offered them free or at minimal cost. The AI companies took advantage of those huge libraries to train their AIs. So, in essence, OpenAI, Meta, xAI, Perplexity and Anthropic re-stole stolen copyrighted materials. Two of the books I authored or co-authored are in those libraries and subject to compensation, should any materialize at the end of the lawsuits.

I don't expect more than a couple hundred dollars when all is said and done, if that much. The attorneys are going to do well though.

The point is that the internet has long been a wild, wild west for bad actors. Just because you can find great deals out there doesn't mean they're legit deals.