Devs locked out of testing Office 2010

Australian TechNet subscribers have been unable to evaluate, test or troubleshoot Office 2010, with users saying that Microsoft is mistakenly blocking product keys.

Numerous users are reporting on Whirlpool and TechNet forums that they are unable to activate their copies of Office 2010 using keys received as part of their TechNet subscriptions. Keys provided under subscriptions are valid even beyond the user's TechNet subscription expiry, but both current and former Australian subscribers are experiencing the same issues.

Users began to notice they were unable to activate the product from the end of last month.

A Microsoft employee on the TechNet forums said the keys were incorrectly being blocked and would be unblocked accordingly. He was unable to provide any reason why they had been blocked in the first place or a time frame in which the issue was expected to be resolved.

In the meantime, testers and developers affected have had to find their own means to bypass the online activation process in order to be able to install Office 2010.

ZDNet Australia contacted Microsoft for comment, which said it was unaware of the issue and unable to comment at the time of writing.

The incident comes just before Microsoft plans to make an announcement on Office 365 next week.