Multiple accounts

Question

We seem to have multiple accounts. They need to be sorted as I am getting a notice that it will expire soon if payment arrangements have not been made?

Need help asap

Answer 1

The expiration notice is typically related to one specific Microsoft 365 subscription, usually because payment is past due or the subscription is close to expiring. Multiple accounts can make this confusing, so the key steps are:

1. Identify which account has the active Microsoft 365 subscription
   1. Go to the Services & subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services.
   2. Sign out first, then sign in one at a time with each email address that might be used (for example, any Outlook, Live, Hotmail, or Gmail-based Microsoft accounts).
   3. Under Microsoft 365, check:
      • Whether the subscription is Active, Expired, Suspended, or Past due.
      • The renewal/expiration date.
   4. Note which account has the subscription that is showing as expiring or past due.
2. If the subscription is past due or payment failed
   1. Still signed in to the correct account, find the subscription marked Past due.
   2. Select Pay now and follow the steps in the Pay for a past-due Microsoft subscription article:
      • Update or change the payment method if the card is expired or invalid.
      • Complete the payment so the subscription becomes active again.
   3. For detailed steps, see Pay for a past-due Microsoft subscription.
3. If the subscription is actually expired or near expiration
   1. On the same Services & subscriptions page, if the Microsoft 365 subscription shows as Expired or shows a renewal date very soon, follow the Renew or Reactivate option.
   2. Make sure the payment method is valid and up to date.
   3. After renewing, close all Office apps and reopen them so the subscription status refreshes.
4. Fix the “Account Notice” warning in Office apps If a yellow bar appears in Word, Excel, or other apps saying:

   "ACCOUNT NOTICE. We've run into a problem with your Microsoft 365 subscription and need your help to fix it." then:

   1. Close all Office apps.
   2. Confirm the subscription is Active on the Subscriptions page as above.
   3. Go to Payment options: https://account.microsoft.com/billing/payments and update any payment method that shows an error.
   4. Reopen Office apps and confirm the warning is gone.
5. Dealing with multiple accounts and duplicate charges
   1. If charges appear more than once, review the order history for each Microsoft account to see which account is being billed. See I've been charged twice for guidance on:
      • Payments that appear close together because a late payment and an on-time payment both went through.
      • Multiple subscriptions purchased intentionally.
      • Multiple Microsoft accounts using the same card.
   2. If two separate subscriptions are being paid for on different accounts and only one is needed, sign in to the account whose subscription should be cancelled and cancel that subscription from Services & subscriptions. This does not delete the account; it only stops future billing.
6. Important notes about multiple accounts
   • Microsoft accounts cannot be merged. Subscriptions, purchases, and data tied to one account cannot be moved to another.
   • To “simplify” accounts, choose which Microsoft account will be the primary one for Microsoft 365 and manage/cancel any extra subscriptions on the others.

If the subscription is not renewed or the past-due payment is not resolved, Office will eventually go into reduced functionality mode, where documents can be opened and printed but not edited or newly created.

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References:

• A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application
• I've been charged twice
• Pay for a past-due Microsoft subscription
• Office error "Account Notice: We've run into a problem with your Microsoft 365 subscription"
• Troubleshoot payment option issues
• I am paying for two subscriptions - Microsoft Q&A
• How to resolve being billed on 2 separate charge accounts for the same thing - Microsoft Q&A
• I realize I have 2 different accounts. How do I combine the 2? - Microsoft Q&A