MS Office Volume License 2024

How to license Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 on macOS devices using the VL Serializer in Relution.

Introduction

To use Microsoft Office apps on macOS, they must be licensed using the Microsoft_Office_LTSC_2024_VL_Serializer.pkg package.

The challenge here is that the PKG changes its internal package name during installation. Since it is not a standard application, the usual procedure for native apps in Relution fails.

Therefore, additional steps are required to:

  • Properly equip the devices with the PKG.
  • Successfully license the Office apps.
  • Maintain device compliance.

Preparing the VL Serializer

The required PKG can be downloaded from the Microsoft Admin Center.

Relution Configuration

  1. Upload the PKG to the Relution App Store.
  2. Use the following Detection Rule for the app so that Relution can correctly interpret the installation status:
com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper

Deploying the PKG

The PKG must be transferred to the endpoints. There are two ways to achieve this:

Manual Installation

The PKG is manually copied to the respective device and executed locally. However, this is not efficient for larger rollouts.

  • Deployment via a Relution script.
  • Download of the file to /Users/Shared/.
  • Subsequent silent installation via the terminal.

Automation Scripts

Download & Installation

This script downloads the serializer from an external source (e.g., your file server) and installs it directly.

#!/bin/bash

# Configuration
URL="https://your-share.com/link/to/file"
PKG="/Users/Shared/Microsoft_Office_LTSC_2024_VL_Serializer.pkg"

echo "Starting download..."
curl -L "$URL" -o "$PKG"

if [ ! -f "$PKG" ]; then
    echo "Error: Download failed."
    exit 1
fi

echo "Serializer found – starting installation..."
/usr/sbin/installer -pkg "$PKG" -target /

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Installation completed successfully."
    rm "$PKG" # Optional: Delete installer after success
    exit 0
else
    echo "Error: Installation failed."
    exit 1
fi

Installing a Locally Available PKG

If the file has already been placed in the Shared folder, use this script:

#!/bin/bash

PKG="/Users/Shared/Microsoft_Office_LTSC_2024_VL_Serializer.pkg"

if [ -f "$PKG" ]; then
    echo "Serializer found – starting installation..."

    sudo /usr/sbin/installer -pkg "$PKG" -target /

    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "Installation completed successfully."
        exit 0
    else
        echo "Error: Installation failed."
        exit 1
    fi
else
    echo "Error: PKG file not found at $PKG."
    exit 1
fi

Distribution via App Compliance

Once the PKG is uploaded to Relution and the detection rule is stored, it can be managed via an App Compliance Policy:

  1. Add the app to the policy.
  2. Relution now regularly checks via the identifier com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper whether the licensing is active on the device.
  3. Devices without this identifier are marked as Non-compliant and can be prompted to reinstall via script.