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How do I upgrade my subscription to "Azure for Students" from "Azure For Students Starter"

Reynze Estaris 0 Reputation points
2026-02-03T00:14:56.5533333+00:00

I am a college student and I have been trying to sign up as a Azure for Student multiple times, with the sing up for an Azure Student account in the azure website. But every time I do it logs me back into the same account with the same subscription. I need to access making Virtual Machines for a school lab, but I'm unable to do so with the starter account.

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  1. Suchitra Suregaunkar 14,410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-02-04T08:22:48.7533333+00:00

    Hello Reynze Estaris Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform.

    You cannot directly “convert” an Azure for Students Starter subscription into an Azure for Students subscription. To get Azure for Students, you must activate the Azure for Students offer separately by completing student verification. If you are eligible, Azure creates a new Azure for Students subscription under the same account.

    This behavior is by design.

    Azure for Students Starter

      • No credit card required
      • $0 spending limit
      • Very limited services (no Virtual Machines)

    Azure for Students

    • No credit card required
    • Includes $100 credit for 12 months
    • Allows compute resources (VMs, networking, storage, etc.)

    Microsoft treats these as two different offers, not an in‑place upgrade path.

    Correct and supported way to get Azure for Students:

    Option 1: Activate Azure for Students offer

    1. Sign out of the Azure portal completely.
    2. Open a new InPrivate / Incognito browser window.
    3. Go directly to the official Azure for Students page: 👉 https://azure.microsoft.com/free/students/
    4. Sign in using your verified school or university email address.
    5. Complete student verification (Microsoft uses a third‑party verification service).
    6. If eligible, Azure automatically creates a new Azure for Students subscription.
    7. After activation, you will see two subscriptions:
      1. Azure for Students Starter (old)
      2. Azure for Students (new, with $100 credit)

    If you only see “Azure for Students Starter” again means one of the following is true:

    • Your institution or student status is not eligible
    • You already used an Azure for Students offer in the past
    • Verification did not succeed

    Microsoft officially supports upgrading Azure for Students Starter → Azure Free (not Azure for Students).

    Steps (documented by Microsoft):

    1. Sign in to the Azure portal
    2. Go to Subscriptions
    3. Select Azure for Students Starter
    4. Select Upgrade

    Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/upgrade-azure-subscription#upgrade-your-azure-for-students-starter-account

    Thanks,
    Suchitra.

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