Microsoft 365 Basic not recognized

Question

Purchased Microsoft 365 Basic on January 16, 2016 for CAD $19.00 plus tax. The subscription is not recognized. My computer is still stating I only have 5 G free storage.

Answer 1

Hi,

To better help you and guide you to the right solution, could you please check and confirm the following details?

Are you sure that you are signed in to the correct Microsoft account?

Please sign in to your account here to verify that you are using the correct account: https://account.microsoft.com/services

If yes, please sign out of OneDrive, then sign back in and check if the issue persists.

If the issue still persists, please check your storage by signing in with your account here: https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/options/accounts-category/storage

Then expand both Microsoft storage and Email storage

Please check whether your account shows 100 GB of storage or still only 5 GB.

Answer 2

Microsoft 365 Basic only changes storage and email quotas in the Microsoft account it is assigned to; it does not install desktop apps or change local disk space. To confirm that the subscription is active and applied to the correct account, and to see the updated storage, use the online account pages rather than relying on the PC’s local display.

1. Verify that the subscription is active and on the expected account
   • Go to the Subscriptions section of the Microsoft account dashboard: https://account.microsoft.com/services (sign in with the Microsoft account used to buy Microsoft 365 Basic).
   • Confirm that Microsoft 365 Basic is listed and that the renewal/expiry date is correct and active.
   • If only a Free status is shown and no Microsoft 365 Basic subscription appears, the purchase may be on a different Microsoft account.
2. Check the storage quota in the Microsoft storage dashboard
   • Open the Microsoft storage area of the account dashboard: Open account dashboard.
   • For a free account with no subscription, the quota is:
     • 5 GB of cloud storage (OneDrive + attachments)
     • 15 GB Outlook.com mailbox
   • For Microsoft 365 Basic, the quota should show:
     • 100 GB mailbox storage
     • 100 GB cloud storage in OneDrive.
   • If the storage still shows only 5 GB cloud storage, the subscription is either not active or not associated with the signed-in account.
3. If storage does not update after purchase
   • Sometimes storage changes can take time to appear. The storage FAQ notes that after buying additional storage, it may be necessary to:
     • Go to Manage storage in OneDrive, refresh the page, and wait up to 24 hours for changes to show.
     • If the quota still hasn’t updated after 24 hours, unlink and relink the OneDrive account on the PC.
4. If the subscription is cancelled or not recognized
   • If a Microsoft 365 Basic subscription is cancelled, storage reverts to 5 GB cloud storage and 15 GB Outlook.com mailbox.
   • If the account dashboard shows the subscription as cancelled or missing, contact Microsoft Support from the account page to review the 2016 purchase and correct the subscription status.

In summary, the PC showing only 5 GB free storage means either the Microsoft 365 Basic subscription is not active, is on a different Microsoft account, or the storage quota has not yet updated. The definitive status is shown in the Subscriptions and Microsoft storage sections of the online account dashboard.

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References:

• Microsoft storage quotas
• Microsoft storage FAQs
• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• What's the difference between a Microsoft 365 subscription and free web apps
• What's the difference between a paid Microsoft 365 subscription and the free web apps?