Why Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 apps can’t share one PC
Office LTSC 2024 and the Microsoft 365 desktop apps can’t be installed on the same Windows PC. Office LTSC 2024 can only use the PerpetualVL2024 update channel, the Microsoft 365 apps use Current Channel by default, and Microsoft’s rule is “You can’t have a mix of update channels on the same device.” Office LTSC 2024 is also a volume licence, and Microsoft’s support page on these conflicts says “Office doesn’t support installing volume license versions of Office on the same device as non-volume license versions.” Setup asks for one of them to be uninstalled before the other goes on, so each PC keeps one of the two.
The same rules decide whether Project and Visio can join Office on a PC. A Mac works differently, because it has one set of Office apps whichever licence they run under.
One update channel for the whole PC
An update channel decides how often Office gets updates and which builds it receives. Microsoft 365 Apps has “three primary update channels”, Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel and Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel, and Microsoft states that “The default update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and Microsoft 365 Apps for business is Current Channel.”
Office LTSC 2024 has a channel of its own. Microsoft’s update guide says PerpetualVL2024 “is the only update channel available for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 and Office LTSC Standard 2024”. Office LTSC 2024 gets its security and quality updates on that channel, usually on the second Tuesday of each month, and it doesn’t receive feature updates.
Microsoft calls the channel “a device-wide setting” and says “all Office products, including Project and Visio, installed on a device must use the same update channel.” PerpetualVL2024 isn’t one of the Microsoft 365 Apps channels, and Office LTSC 2024 can’t use any other, so the two can’t meet that rule on one PC.
What setup does
Setup stops before it installs anything. The message Microsoft’s support page describes starts “To install” with the name of the product, and goes on “first uninstall the following product(s) and try again.” Microsoft’s example is that “if you have a volume license version of Office Professional Plus 2019 installed, you can’t install or activate Microsoft 365 on the same device.”
If the conflict shows up at activation, the message says a product “is already installed and activated” and tells you to contact your administrator. Microsoft’s answer in both cases is that you “must uninstall the version of Office that isn’t compatible with the version you’re trying to install or activate.”
Separate Windows accounts don’t help
Office is installed once for the whole PC, and every Windows user on it shares that installation. A Microsoft moderator answering a question in March 2026 about Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 Apps for business on one shared laptop explained that “even when using different Windows user accounts, Office is installed at the system level.” He described running both on one Windows installation as “generally not supported”.
Two people who need different versions of Office need different PCs, or one of them works in Office on the web.
Which combinations work on one PC
| Products on one PC | Supported | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 Apps | No | Different update channels, and a volume licence next to a non-volume licence |
| Office LTSC 2024 and Office LTSC 2021 | No | Each can only use its own channel, PerpetualVL2024 or PerpetualVL2021 |
| Office LTSC 2024 with volume licensed Project 2024 and Visio LTSC 2024 | Yes | All three can use PerpetualVL2024, with the same architecture |
| Office LTSC 2024 with a retail Project 2024 or Visio 2024 | No | A volume licence next to a non-volume licence |
| Microsoft 365 Apps with a retail Project 2024 or Visio 2024 | Yes, on version 2408 or later | Same version and installation technology |
| Microsoft 365 Apps with volume licensed Project 2024 or Visio LTSC 2024 | Yes, on version 2408 or later | Project or Visio set to the same channel as Microsoft 365 Apps |
Microsoft’s note on the Microsoft 365 rows reads “Requires Version 2408 of Microsoft 365 Apps or later for compatibility with Project 2024, Visio LTSC 2024, and Visio 2024.” For a volume licensed Project or Visio, Microsoft adds that “Volume licensed Project and Visio installations must be configured to use the same update channel as Microsoft 365 Apps.” Microsoft’s update guide for Office LTSC 2024 says volume licensed Project 2024 and Visio LTSC 2024 can use Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel or Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel for that reason, and they still get only security and quality updates on those channels.
Every product on the PC also has to share one architecture. Microsoft’s rule is “All installed products must match in bit (32-bit or 64-bit) version.”
Using both in one office
Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 work side by side in an office as long as each PC has one of them. Shared counter PCs can run Office LTSC 2024, and the people who work across several devices can use Microsoft 365 on their own laptops.
An office can also give everyone Microsoft 365 email and Teams while its PCs run Office LTSC 2024. Microsoft 365 Business Basic comes with web and mobile apps and no desktop apps, so nothing on the PC conflicts, and Microsoft supports Office LTSC 2024 connecting to Microsoft 365 services until 9 October 2029. Our cost comparison of Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 works through that set-up at Microsoft’s UK prices.
Switching a PC between them
- Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, search for Microsoft 365 and then for Office, and uninstall every entry, including those ending in a language code such as en-gb.
- Restart the PC.
- Install the version the PC is moving to. Office LTSC 2024 installs with the Office Deployment Tool, as our installation guide explains. The Microsoft 365 apps install from Microsoft’s apps page once you sign in with the Microsoft 365 account.
- Open Word and check File > Account.
A volume key counts each activation, so a PC that goes back to Office LTSC 2024 later uses another activation.
On a Mac
A Mac has one set of Office apps, and the licence decides which version they run as. Microsoft’s deployment guide says “The same installer package can be used for Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Office LTSC for Mac 2024, and Office LTSC for Mac 2021.” A Mac with Office LTSC for Mac 2024 can move to Microsoft 365 “without uninstalling your current version”. Microsoft’s steps are to install the latest Office updates, then open any Office app and sign in with the Microsoft 365 account.
Checking what a PC has
Open Word and go to File > Account. Office LTSC 2024 shows Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 or Office LTSC Standard 2024 under Product Information. Microsoft 365 shows the name of the Microsoft 365 product and the account it belongs to.
Where our products fit
Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 or Office LTSC Standard 2024 can share a PC with a volume licensed Project Professional 2024 and Visio Professional 2024, all on the PerpetualVL2024 channel.
The apps from our Office 365 Pro Account are Microsoft 365 Apps, so on Windows they go on a PC without Office LTSC 2024. Project and Visio can join them under the Microsoft 365 rules above. On a Mac, the account signs in to the same Office apps that Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2024 uses.
Questions about Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 on one PC
Can Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 be installed on the same PC?
No. Office LTSC 2024 only uses the PerpetualVL2024 update channel, Microsoft 365 Apps uses its own channels, and every Office product on a Windows PC has to use the same one.
Can each Windows user on a PC have a different version of Office?
No. Office is installed for the whole PC, so every Windows account on it uses the same installation.
Can Office LTSC 2024 be switched to Current Channel?
No. PerpetualVL2024 is the only update channel Microsoft makes available for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 and Office LTSC Standard 2024.
Do Microsoft 365 email and Teams work with Office LTSC 2024?
Yes. Microsoft supports Office LTSC 2024 connecting to Microsoft 365 services until 9 October 2029, and the Teams app is a separate download.
Can Visio 2024 go on a PC with Microsoft 365 Apps?
Yes, with Microsoft 365 Apps on version 2408 or later and both on the same architecture. A volume licensed Visio has to be set to the same update channel as Microsoft 365 Apps.
Sources
- Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps, Microsoft Learn
- Update Office LTSC 2024, Microsoft Learn
- Update Office LTSC 2021, Microsoft Learn
- Supported scenarios for installing different versions of Office, Project, and Visio on the same computer, Microsoft Learn
- These versions of Office can’t be installed or activated on the same device, Microsoft Support
- How to install two MS Office editions on a single computer, Microsoft Q&A
- Deployment options for admins for Office for Mac, Microsoft Learn
- Office versions and connectivity to Microsoft 365 services, Microsoft Learn
- Overview of Office LTSC 2024, Microsoft Learn