Office 365 now free with Edge browser?

[mi7chy]

Updated Edge and noticed that Office 365 is now free on Edge. Is this a new promo?

Looking into it further it's free with an existing or new Microsoft account and appears to also work with Chrome.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-productivity-apps

Tip: If you get an error logging in with Microsoft @live.com email address just browse to accounts.microsoft.com, go to Your info, Edit account info, add an @outlook.com alias and use that to log into Office 365.

 

[DJLC]

I believe it's been this way for a while... you can use the online-only version of Office 365 for free. You have to pay if you want the downloadable apps or you want a business account.

 

[mi7chy]

Strange must've flew under the radar. Have only seen it as limited time trial but maybe that was for Office 365 thick app.

 

[sracer]

Yeah, that's been available for free online for quite a while, but considering how flakey Microsoft is with their offerings, it's not easy to keep up. Their licensing restrictions for free access to Office on Android and iOS was enough to cause one to give up in confusion.

The web version of Office is quite advanced. I discovered that if I save my .docx files on my desktop with the embedded font option, and then upload to OneDrive, Word online can display the file perfectly. Many of my documents use a unique US Letter page in landscape format, 2 column, short side duplex, with paragraph styles that use a custom font of my handwriting.

The web version of Apple Pages used to be able to handle that too, but they took a step backward and so the custom font gets substituted... but not a close substitute so things are way off when working online (but are fine on the desktop).

 

[mi7chy]

Too bad Office 365 web app isn't as good as the thick app but still better than paying a subscription for the times when someone decides to send a document you have to fill out in Word format instead of PDF. The web version in edit mode has cut off text on the right edge while version history shows it correctly.

 

[nickdalzell1]

The web apps have been a thing since the latest Xbox One updates too. At least a year or so ago LTT did a video about how the Xbox One is more like a PC given the Edge browser accesses web apps and makes it capable just as much, including connecting to a wifi printer.

Personally, I love where Microsoft is going. They're a far cry from the evil corporation of the 1990s.

 

[maflynn]

They're a far cry from the evil corporation of the 1990s.

Some people will disagree

You’ll need a Microsoft account to set up future versions of Windows 11 Pro

 

[nickdalzell1]

I have a MS Account (local accounts are useless for many OSs, including Samsung's Android skin, Google's Android, etc) so that doesn't really affect me. Heck, using a Mac or iPhone without an Apple ID is either impossible or severely limited. Can't exactly blame MS for this. Everyone's doing it.

I would still prefer they didn't shove Windows on every OEM PC sold, since that technically still violates the law that got them into the whole Anti-trust lawsuit years ago, but oh well.