I do not want to automatically upgrade my tier but your website is not user friendly at all. Please help!

Question

I want to opt out of the Tier upgrade on my Azure account, I want to remain with a free account. But the link on the email I received informing me of the automatic upgrade sends me to a page with lots of text to read and gives me ZERO information about opting out. It is extremely non-user friendly.

I signed up for the free account to complete an exercise for a learning module, and now it is trying to automatically upgrade me. It looks like they're making it intentionally difficult to cancel the automatic upgrade.

I say again: I DO NOT WANT TO AUTOMATICALLY UPGRADE!!! Please show me how to cancel this.

Answer 1

Hi Nathaniel,

After 30 days you must upgrade your Azure Free account to Pay-As-You-Go or it will be disabled. After upgrade you can continue using free services for the remaining 11 months, however, if you use a non-free service or exceed free limits you will incur charges. Please see below articles for details on avoiding charges:

Avoid charges with your Azure free account

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/avoid-charges-free-account

Check usage of free services included with your Azure free account

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/check-free-service-usage

I recommend checking your subscription in the portal minimum every day and make sure you understand how pricing works before creating each resource.

If you have any questions about how the process works please add a comment below.

Please click Accept Answer and upvote if the above was helpful.

Thanks.

-TP

Answer 2

To avoid an automatic upgrade and stay on the Azure free account, the key is to either:

1. Not upgrade when prompted, and
2. Delete or stop any resources you don’t want to pay for, or
3. Cancel the subscription entirely if Azure is no longer needed.

From the provided information:

1. Understand what triggers charges
   • The Azure free account gives a $200 credit for 30 days and certain free services for 12 months.
   • When the 30‑day credit expires, the subscription and services are disabled until the account is upgraded.
   • If the account is upgraded, usage beyond the free limits is billed at pay‑as‑you‑go rates.
   Reference behavior:
   • “Your subscription and services are disabled when your credit runs out or expires at the end of 30 days. To continue using Azure services, you must upgrade your account.”
   • “After you upgrade, you'll have continued access to free services for 12 months and you get charged only for usage beyond the free services and quantities.”
   This means: if the upgrade is not accepted, the free trial simply stops working; it does not auto‑convert to a paid subscription with charges.
2. If already upgraded or worried about charges
   • If the account has already been upgraded, charges occur only when:
     • Using services that aren’t free, or
     • Exceeding the free monthly limits of included services.
   • To avoid charges:
     • Use only services and tiers that are included in the free account, and
     • Keep usage within the free limits.
   • To check usage and costs, use the Azure portal cost tools described in the documentation (for example, “Report on and analyze costs”).
3. If Azure is no longer needed at all
   • Delete resources for services that are not needed.
   • Then cancel the subscription so it cannot incur future charges.
   • The documentation explicitly states: “If you don’t intend to use any Azure service, you can cancel your subscription.”
4. If charges have already appeared or more help is needed
   • If there is confusion about whether the account was upgraded or if charges are already present, a support request can be created for direct assistance.

Summary of practical actions:

• Do not click any “Upgrade” or “Convert to pay‑as‑you‑go” buttons if the free trial is still active and no further Azure use is needed.
• If the account is already upgraded but Azure is not needed, cancel the subscription.
• If Azure is still needed but charges are a concern, use only free services within their limits and monitor usage.

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References:

• Avoid charges with your Azure free account