Has the Subscription model changed?

Question

We've been using 365 since around 2013/14 back when it was Office 365 and have suffered under the same subscription since then (including a rebrand and several moves, not that moves matter). The licensing is still as opaque as a mountain and not even clawd can figure it out. I'm unable to add new users to our E5 subscriptions (despite the count rising steadily after each attempt to purchase and assign when adding a new user). I finally out of desperation must have done something right to add a user last I tried, but they are showing up as a separate subscription entirely. We are in a hybrid setup so my typical flow was add user locally, wait for them to sync, assign/buy if necessary licenses in 365 admin and they would be live. Now no matter what I try i can't seem to be able to add users. Now I'm wondering if something in my workflow is completely wrong.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Edit: forgot to mention I've had a support ticket open for this for over a month now (literally 30 days) and I just keep getting 10-word "update" emails that they are "still waiting for response from internal support". Typical. We really should look at other options for the 10k/month we are giving them...the lock-in is real though.

Answer 1

The subscription model for Microsoft 365 for business has not fundamentally changed, but there are now more plan types and upgrade paths, which can make licensing appear more complex. The core workflow is still:

1. Buy a subscription (for example, Microsoft 365 E5) with a certain number of licenses.
2. Add users to the tenant.
3. Assign available licenses from one or more subscriptions to those users.

Key points relevant to the described symptoms:

1. Multiple subscriptions in the same tenant
   • When another subscription is bought through the Microsoft 365 admin center, it is associated with the same organization/tenant and domain namespace as the existing subscription.
   • This is by design and is what allows assigning different plans to different users or moving users between plans. It is normal to see more than one subscription listed under Billing > Your products.
   • If a new plan was purchased instead of adding more licenses to the existing E5 plan, the result is multiple subscriptions rather than a single E5 subscription with a higher license count.
2. Subscriptions vs. licenses
   • A subscription is the product/plan (for example, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, etc.).
   • Licenses are the per‑user entitlements under that subscription. When a subscription is purchased, the number of licenses must be specified based on how many users need that plan.
   • If more users need the same plan, more licenses can be bought for that existing subscription instead of purchasing a separate subscription.
   • If more than one subscription exists, different users can be assigned licenses from different subscriptions.
3. Why a new user might appear under a “separate subscription”
   • If, during the process of adding a user, a different plan was selected (for example, a different Microsoft 365 plan instead of the existing E5), the admin center may have created or used another subscription and assigned that license to the user.
   • In Billing > Your products, both the “old” E5 subscription and the “new” subscription will appear. Each will show its own license count and how many are assigned.
4. Recommended workflow for adding users in a hybrid setup
   • Ensure the correct subscription already has enough licenses:
     • In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Billing > Your products and verify the E5 subscription is listed and active, and that it has unassigned licenses available.
   • Add the user on‑premises as before, let it sync to Microsoft 365.
   • In the Microsoft 365 admin center, assign an existing E5 license to the synced user instead of purchasing a new subscription:
     • This aligns with the guidance that, after buying a subscription, accounts are created and then a license is assigned to each person.
   • If there are no free E5 licenses, increase the license count on the existing E5 subscription rather than buying a different plan, so all users stay under the same subscription where intended.
5. When a different subscription is appropriate
   • If some users need different features than the current plan provides, a different subscription can be added and licenses from that subscription assigned only to those users.
   • This is the supported model when organizational needs change and some users require different capabilities.

If the goal is to keep all users on the same E5 plan, the practical steps are:

• Confirm which subscription is the original E5 plan and ensure it has enough licenses.
• Stop purchasing additional, different subscriptions when adding users; instead, add licenses to the existing E5 subscription.
• For any users currently on a different plan unintentionally, move them to the correct subscription by assigning an E5 license from the original subscription and, if desired, removing the other license.

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References:

• Try or buy a Microsoft 365 for business subscription
• Understand subscriptions and licenses in Microsoft 365 for business
• Upgrade or change to a different Microsoft 365 for business plan
• Add users and assign licenses in Microsoft 365