Family subscription not working in Outlook.

Question

Hi, I have a family subscription through my sister account. Every app works just fine except for Outlook. Whether is in the website in my computer (Windows and updated) or Apple devices, just in Outlook shows I do not have a subscription.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

To help narrow down the issue:

1. Are you signed in to Outlook with the same Microsoft account that your sister shared the subscription with?
2. You can also confirm the subscription here: https://account.microsoft.com/services Do you see Microsoft 365 Family shared with you on that page?

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If your OneDrive storage quota hasn't updated, it can take up to 24 hours for the new quota to show after joining Microsoft 365 Family subscription.

If the update is still pending after 24 hours, you can try unlinking and relinking your OneDrive account, or resetting it. "Unlink and re-link OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/unlink-and-re-link-onedrive-3c4680bf-cc36-4204-9ca5-e7b24cdd23ea

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Let me know what you find and we can continue from there.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Because the subscription is a Microsoft 365 Family plan owned by a family member, Outlook will only recognize the subscription if the account being used is correctly included in the shared subscription and has accepted the sharing invitation.

Use these checks and steps:

1. Confirm that the subscription is shareable
   • The owner (sister) must have Microsoft 365 Family (or a similar shareable plan), not Microsoft 365 Personal or Basic.
   • The owner should sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/services and verify that:
     • The subscription is Microsoft 365 Family and is active.
     • The subscription is shared with the correct Microsoft account (the one used to sign in to Outlook).
2. Verify sharing status and family group
   • Only the subscription account holder can share the subscription.
   • The owner should check that:
     • The sharing invitation was sent to the correct email address.
     • The invitation was accepted and the account has joined the Microsoft family group.
   • If the invitation email was not received, the owner should:
     • Confirm the email address used.
     • Ask to check the junk/spam folder for a message with “Microsoft 365” in the subject.
3. Check if the account is already using another shared subscription
   • If the account is already part of another shared Microsoft 365 Family subscription, it cannot receive benefits from a second one. In that case, Outlook may show no subscription benefits from the sister’s plan.
4. Re-share if needed
   • If the subscription expired and was renewed, or if the family group changed, the owner may need to:
     • Remove the account from sharing, then
     • Re-add and resend the invitation, and ensure it is accepted.
5. Sign out and back in to Outlook
   • After confirming the account is correctly included in the shared subscription:
     • Sign out of Outlook on the web and all apps.
     • Close the browser/app, reopen, and sign back in with the same Microsoft account that is listed under the shared Family subscription.

If all these conditions are met (active Microsoft 365 Family subscription, correctly shared, invitation accepted, and signed in with the right account), Outlook should recognize the subscription and stop showing that there is no subscription.

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References:

• Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription
• Upgrade to Microsoft 365
• How licensing and access works in Outlook for Mac