We will start with the following lemma.
Lemma 1. There exists a diagonal that has two equal numbers for any 2×2 square.
Proof. Let X be the greatest number in 2×2 square. Let his neighbors in this 2×2 square be A and B. Clearly, they are located on a diagonal, so if A=B, the lemma is proven. Suppose A>B. Then A+X=k!>B+X=m!>1, thus k>m. It is also clear that m>1,k>2. But then
2(B+X)=2m!>2X≥A+X=k!≥k⋅m!>2m!,
that leads to a contradiction. This finishes the proof of Lemma 1.
By contradiction, let the table consist of the numbers a1,a2,...,a16, that satisfy the conditions (Fig. 7).
Use Lemma 1 for a square with a1,a2,a5,a6. Without loss of generality, let a2=a5. Use Lemma 1 for squares with a2,a3,a6,a7 and a5,a6,a9,a10.
Case I. a2=a7 or a5=a10. Since these cases are similar, let a2=a5=a10=x.
<table><tr><td>a1</td><td>x</td><td>a3</td><td>a4</td></tr><tr><td>x</td><td>a6</td><td>a7</td><td>a8</td></tr><tr><td>a9</td><td>x</td><td>a11</td><td>a12</td></tr><tr><td>a13</td><td>a14</td><td>a15</td><td>a16</td></tr></table>
Fig. 8
From Lemma 1 for the square a9, a10=x,a13,a14, if a13=x, then we have four equal numbers that lead to a contradiction. Then a9=a14. Similarly, from Lemma 1 for a square with a10=x,a11,a14,a15 we have that a9=a14=a11=y
<table><tr><td>a1</td><td>x</td><td>a3</td><td>a4</td></tr><tr><td>x</td><td>a6</td><td>a7</td><td>a8</td></tr><tr><td>y</td><td>x</td><td>y</td><td>a12</td></tr><tr><td>a13</td><td>y</td><td>a15</td><td>a16</td></tr></table>
Fig. 9
It suffices to use the Lemma 1 for a square with a6,a7,a10=x,a11=y thus, the table has either four numbers x or four numbers y. The contradiction completes the proof.
Case II. a3=a6=a9=t.
<table><tr><td>a1</td><td>a2</td><td>t</td><td>a4</td></tr><tr><td>a5</td><td>t</td><td>a7</td><td>a8</td></tr><tr><td>t</td><td>a10</td><td>a11</td><td>a12</td></tr><tr><td>a13</td><td>a14</td><td>a15</td><td>a16</td></tr></table>
Fig. 10
By assumption, there is no other number t among the rest of the values, so by Lemma 1 the following holds: a4=a7=a10=a13, that leads to a contradiction and completes the proof.