Every machine in the building would silently check in every 7 days, trying to renew its lease. If a laptop was stolen and taken offline, the license would survive for 180 days. But eventually, it would need to find the KMS host again. It was a security feature. If the company stopped paying, or if the machine left the network for six months, the license would evaporate.

: Standard Microsoft 365 subscriptions (Home, Personal, Business) use Account-based activation (signing in with an email) rather than KMS.

"Okay, Sarah," Arthur said. "Try closing Word and opening it again."

: A KMS activation typically lasts for 180 days and must be renewed every seven days by reconnecting to the host.

For fully offline or air-gapped environments, Microsoft recommends Office LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) with KMS or MAK activation. Office 365 requires periodic online check-ins (every 30 days by default).