subsciption

Question

I paid a subscription of £104.99 for Microsoft family on 02/09/2025 and I am unable to use it.

I am being told that my subscription expired on 05/01/2026 ???

I paid the subscription on my Apple laptop.

I am writing this message from a my Dell laptop and also wish to have Microsoft on my wife's HP laptop but am unable to sync the devices because I am being told that my subscription has expired.

Can you please help me.

Answer 1

Follow these steps to get the subscription working on all devices:

1. Confirm the subscription status and dates
   1. On any device, go to https://account.microsoft.com/services and sign in with the same Microsoft account that was used to buy Microsoft 365 Family on the Apple laptop.
   2. Check that Microsoft 365 Family shows as Active, not Expired or Past due, and verify the expiration date.
   3. If it shows Expired or Past due, follow any Renew or Pay now options shown there. For past-due payments, see the steps in Pay for a past-due Microsoft subscription.
2. If the subscription is active but apps say “Subscription expired”
   1. On each laptop (Apple, Dell, HP), close all Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
   2. Reopen an Office app and, when prompted, sign in with the same Microsoft account that shows the active Microsoft 365 Family subscription.
   3. If a yellow bar appears saying Renew your subscription or Subscription expired, follow the guidance in A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application:
      • If it shows RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, select Buy only if the online account page shows the subscription really is expired.
      • If it shows SUBSCRIPTION EXPIRED but the online account shows Active, close all Office apps and sign in again with the correct account.
3. If still seeing expiry messages after confirming payment
   1. If the subscription was purchased as a physical card or via a code, make sure the product key was redeemed. Until the key is redeemed, the subscription does not start. See the “If you're still getting notifications after renewing or buying Microsoft 365” section in A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application.
   2. Check that each device is online and can reach Microsoft 365 services. If a device has not connected to the internet for a long time, Office can go into reduced functionality mode until it reconnects and signs in again.
4. Install and share Microsoft 365 Family on all laptops
   1. On the account that owns the subscription, go to https://account.microsoft.com/services and select Install to install Office on the Dell and HP laptops.
   2. To use Microsoft 365 Family on a spouse’s HP laptop, share the subscription from the same page by sending an invitation to that person’s email, then have them accept and sign in on their device with their own Microsoft account.
5. If charges or dates look wrong
   1. If the expiration date online does not match the expected term for the £104.99 payment, or if there are unrecognized or duplicate charges, contact Microsoft Support directly as billing issues cannot be fixed from forums. Use the “Contact us”/“Contact support” options described in the Q&A and support articles to reach a billing agent.

If none of the above resolves the issue and the subscription shows as active but cannot be used, contact Microsoft Support and provide the purchase date, amount, and the Microsoft account used so they can correct the subscription status.

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References:

• Problems renewing a Microsoft 365 subscription
• A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application
• Microsoft 365 Apps activation Subscription expired error
• Pay for a past-due Microsoft subscription
• Turn recurring billing on or off for a Microsoft subscription
• What's the difference between a Microsoft 365 subscription and free web apps
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• How to resolve being billed on 2 separate charge accounts for the same thing - Microsoft Q&A
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A