I can't trade out my free teams to essentials on my computer

Question

I have purchased microsoft essentials twice and I'm still paying for it but it will not allow me to change from the free microsoft teams to the one that gives me more than an hour per meeting. What do I have to do to get it to work?

Answer 1

Hi @Southeastern Improvement Association, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on the details you shared that you purchased Microsoft Teams Essentials but the Teams app on your computer still shows the free version with a one hour meeting limit. I truly appreciate the effort you have already made and thank you for reaching out.

This situation usually occurs when the paid license is not yet assigned to the account that is currently signed in to Teams, or when the app is signed in to a different organization than the one that holds the subscription. In addition, the desktop app can retain cached data from the free service, which prevents it from updating your entitlements. In some cases, purchases made with different email addresses create separate environments, so the app cannot detect the correct subscription. 

Please follow these steps below are tailored to your situation: 

1/ Confirm your subscription and license assignment (Global admin only) 

• If you purchased with a work or school account, go to admin.microsoft.com, sign in with the same email used for the purchase, open Users, then Active users, select your user, and confirm that Microsoft Teams Essentials is assigned under Licenses and apps. 

• If you see more than one Teams Essentials subscription, note the exact email address and the organization name shown for each. 
• For your information that you can concern: Assign or unassign licenses for users in the Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

2/ Sign in to Teams with the licensed account and the correct organization 

• Open the Teams desktop app, select your profile picture, choose Sign out, then fully quit Teams. 
• Reopen Teams. When prompted, choose Work or school and sign in with the email that shows the active Teams Essentials subscription. 
• If you are asked to select an organization, choose the one that corresponds to the subscription you verified above. 
• In Teams, open Settings, then Accounts, and confirm you are in that same organization and that only the intended account is signed in. 
• Reference: Manage accounts and organizations in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Support 

3/ Refresh the app cache and verify the meeting duration 

• Exit Teams completely. 
• On Microsoft: Press Windows + R, then type: %userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams  
• On Mac: Press Command + Q, type: rm -rf ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams  
• rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2  
• Reopen Teams and sign in again with the licensed account and correct organization. 
• Schedule a test meeting longer than 60 minutes to confirm the extended limit now applies. 

If any step does not match what you see, please reply with the email address used for the purchase, whether you use Windows or Mac, and a screenshot or description of what appears under Licenses for your user. I am ready to help you get this working smoothly. 

I hope this response has helped address your question and clarify the behavior you're experiencing. Please feel free to reply if you have any further questions, I would be happy to assist further.  

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

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Answer 2

To upgrade from the free version of Microsoft Teams to Microsoft Teams Essentials, you need to ensure that you have properly set up your Teams Essentials subscription. Here are some steps you can follow:

1. Sign In: Make sure you are signed in with the same email address that you used to purchase Microsoft Teams Essentials.
2. Check Subscription Status: Verify that your Teams Essentials subscription is active. You can do this by checking your Microsoft account subscriptions.
3. Access Teams: If you are still seeing the free version, try logging out and logging back in to refresh your account settings.
4. Contact Support: If you continue to experience issues, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for assistance in resolving the problem with your subscription.

If you have purchased Teams Essentials multiple times, ensure that you are using the correct account associated with your subscription.

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References:

• Microsoft Teams Essentials QuickStart guide for small businesses