🔒 Fixing “Sorry, you don’t have a license to edit this presentation with your PowerPoint Online”

Posted on by

🧩 Issue Overview

After successfully setting up Office Online Server (OOS) and trying to edit a PowerPoint (or Word/Excel) file in the browser, you may encounter this message:

“Sorry, you don’t have a license to edit this presentation with your PowerPoint Online.”

Even though document preview works fine, edit mode is blocked. This isn’t due to a setup error—it’s tied to how you configured the OOS farm and whether Office licensing terms are satisfied.

🧭 Root Cause

By default, Office Online Server only allows viewing unless the server is explicitly enabled for editing AND the users are licensed through one of the following:

  • Exchange Server with appropriate licensing
  • Volume licensing customers allowed to use Office Online Server for editing

This error means one of two things:

  1. Editing wasn’t enabled when setting up the OOS farm
  2. Your setup doesn’t meet licensing terms for editing Office docs in-browser

✅ Resolution Steps

1. Check if Editing Is Enabled in OOS Farm

Run this command on the OOS server:

Get-OfficeWebAppsFarm

Check if EditingEnabled is set to True.

Set-OfficeWebAppsFarm -EditingEnabled:$true

Let’s preview and edit the document:

Again, editing the PPT.

🧾 Conclusion

The message “you don’t have a license to edit…” is not a technical error—it’s a licensing enforcement mechanism in Office Online Server. To fix it:

  • Ensure you used the -EditingEnabled flag during OOS setup
  • Verify you’re properly licensed
  • If editing is not needed, configure the farm in view-only mode

This will help keep your deployment compliant and functional for all users.