Planner and Project Plan 3 - been paying by subscription - all payments up to data - but today no access

Question

Been using Planner and Project Plan 3 for several months. I am paying monthly and my most recent (paid) invoice/receipt was a few days ago. My Microsoft Account shows I have one license and it's allocated to me.

For some unknown reason your system says my product is unlicensed. I cannot access, or create any project plans, but I need to do that, as that's my job.

I have even opened an additional Business account, a new one, and started a trial for Planner and Project Plan 3, but that will not work either.

I have used different browsers. I have logged out of all accounts. I have logged in using Microsoft Authenticator.

I have sent support emails asking for help, with detailed screenshots. I sent those to ******@mail.support.microsoft.com but total silence.

I think you have changed your account management system. By coincidence, my access to my paid product is now disabled? I have opend a new trial, with a new account (but still using my Business email) ... and hey presto that will not work?

I am quite capable of writing my own project planing app, but people want/expect me to use Microsoft Project. (sad).

Simple Request. Contact me [Moderator note: personal info removed]@msm-systems.com I'll send you anything you want. Just get this app back for me.

Mike

Answer 1

Dear Mike McKean,

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

Based on your description, you are unable to access Planner even though your subscription is up to date and you have also tried using a trial license. While your Microsoft account shows that a license is assigned to you, you will need to verify in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center that the correct license is assigned and fully enabled for your user account.

Please log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center Users page using a Global Admin account > select your user > on the right-side panel, select Licenses and apps > under Licenses, ensure that the Project Plan 3 license is assigned > expand the license details and confirm that all related service components are enabled > click Save changes.

Please note that Planner (standard) is typically included automatically within most Microsoft 365 business licenses and may not appear as a separate toggle.

If everything is assigned correctly and the product still shows as unlicensed, this may indicate a backend provisioning issue.

In addition, if you are requesting direct support from an agent who can call or email you, you can raise a support ticket through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center as well. Microsoft moderators are not permitted to contact users directly or access personal account information. 

To raise a support ticket, you can follow the below:

• Go to the admin center
• On the bottom right side of the page, select Help & support.
  • 

If you need clarifications, please let me know.

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Answer 2

Before I asnwer or reply, FYI, I use ChatGPT, GROK and Gemini daily. I am mentioning thsi to show that I do accept that using generative A.I. has its place.

In this case, you are using bots to keep customers at "arms length" and fob us off with a dumb bot.

To summarise;

1. I am up to date with my payments.
2. You updated/changed your account management system, and by coinicidence, my acecss to Planner and Project 3 have been disbaled.
3. I have also opend a new account and started a trial of Planner and Project 3, however although that's a different account, different password , and I logged out of my other account, you will not let me download/run/use the app.
4. I guess that when everything is going fine, the app is OK. But wqhen it goes wrong, the Microsoft bot takes over, and no matter what we do, we are "not in a good place".

Answer 3

I have been trying all of the things your bot sugegsted. None of them worked. Is it possible you could ask a human to please review my issue?

Using bots is really good, if they can answer and resolve the problem. But if they cannot, it would be a good idea to use a human to pick this type of issue up?

Answer 4

The symptoms match a licensing or subscription recognition issue on the Microsoft 365 side, not a local browser or device problem, especially since:

• Planner and Project Plan 3 are paid, active, and assigned to the account.
• A new tenant with a fresh Planner and Project Plan 3 trial also cannot access premium capabilities.
• Browsers, sign‑out/sign‑in, and Authenticator have already been tried.

Because license state and billing are controlled in Microsoft’s backend, this cannot be fixed from the client side. It requires Microsoft support to review the tenant’s subscription, license assignment, and service health.

Actionable next steps:

1. Verify license status and assignment
   • In the Microsoft 365 admin center, confirm that:
     • The subscription for Planner and Project Plan 3 is active (not expired/suspended).
     • The license is assigned to the exact user account being used to sign in.
   • If the subscription shows any payment or status warning, resolve that first. If there is a payment problem, the service can be marked as unlicensed even if charges appear on the bank side.
2. Check Planner entitlement
   • Planner basic features are included with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions without extra license.
   • Premium capabilities (Timeline, People, Goals, etc.) require a premium license such as Planner and Project Plan 3 or Planner and Project Plan 5.
   • Confirm that the user account has one of these premium licenses assigned and that the tenant is not in a Government Cloud (GCC/GCC High/DoD), where premium capabilities are currently not available.
3. Use the in‑product trial/upgrade flow (for the new tenant)
   • In Planner, select the diamond icon and follow the flow to start the 30‑day trial of Planner premium capabilities if available.
   • If the admin has disabled trials, this option will not work and support must enable or assign the correct license.
4. Open a support request as admin (recommended path)
   • Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center for the affected tenant with the global admin account.
   • Go to Help & support and create a ticket describing:
     • Planner and Project Plan 3 subscription is active and assigned.
     • Planner shows as unlicensed and premium plans cannot be created or opened.
     • A second tenant with a fresh Planner and Project Plan 3 trial shows the same behavior.
   • Ask specifically for:
     • Verification of the subscription state for Planner and Project Plan 3.
     • Verification that the service plan for Planner premium capabilities is enabled on the user’s license.
     • A check for any backend incident affecting Planner licensing in the region.
5. If admin center access is blocked or limited
   • Use the Microsoft 365 Customer Service and Support phone channel for business products. An admin can call the regional hotline and have a ticket raised with the support and data protection teams.
   • Clearly state this is a business subscription, that Planner and Project Plan 3 are paid and assigned, and that the product shows as unlicensed.
6. While waiting for resolution
   • If the subscription is in any kind of suspended or grace state, Office apps may enter reduced functionality mode and show “Unlicensed Product”. In that case, only viewing/printing is available until Microsoft corrects the subscription state.
   • If basic Planner (non‑premium) is available under the Microsoft 365 license, use basic plans (Grid/Board/Schedule/Charts) as a temporary workaround while support fixes premium access.

Because the issue persists across tenants and after all local troubleshooting, only Microsoft’s support/billing teams can correct the backend license state so that Planner and Project Plan 3 are recognized as licensed again.

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References:

• Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Planner
• Microsoft Planner for admins
• What Microsoft 365 business product or license do I have?
• A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application
• Microsoft 365 Customer Service and Support