Student Discount

Question

Hello! My subscription was recently renewed. I am actually a student, and the student discount was not applied. How can I get a refund on my purchase and apply the student discount?

Answer 1

Dear @sarah miller,

Based on your description, I understand that your subscription was recently renewed, but the student discount was not applied to the purchase. I’m sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused.

To better narrow down the issue, could you please help confirm a few details below?

• Which Microsoft subscription was renewed, whether the subscription was previously purchased using a student discount or if this is the first time you are trying to apply it, and where the subscription was purchased or renewed?
• Please confirm whether you are currently signed in with a verified student or school account, along with the renewal date and whether the payment has already been charged successfully.
• Additionally, when you attempted to apply the student discount, did you receive any error message or error code? If yes, please share the exact message or a screenshot if available, while avoiding any sensitive personal or payment information.

Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to your reply.

Answer 2

To have the renewal refunded and then apply a student offer, the subscription must first be cancelled and checked for refund eligibility, and the path depends on where the subscription was purchased.

1. If the Microsoft 365 subscription was bought directly from Microsoft:
   1. Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services/microsoft365 and sign in with the same Microsoft account that was charged.
   2. Find the Microsoft 365 subscription and select Manage.
   3. Select Cancel (or Upgrade or Cancel) and follow the on‑screen steps.
   4. During cancellation, refund eligibility is checked automatically; if eligible, a refund is processed according to the rules in the cancellation flow. Not all cancellations result in a refund.
   5. After cancellation and refund (if granted), a new subscription can be purchased using the appropriate student/education offer.
   Notes from the policy:
   • If Turn on recurring billing is shown instead of Manage, the subscription is already set to expire and will not renew again; no further action is needed to stop future charges.
   • In Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Turkey, some cancellations may qualify for prorated refunds. Learn more.
2. If the subscription was purchased through a third party (for example, Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon, or another retailer):
   • Microsoft cannot cancel or manage billing for these subscriptions.
   • Contact the retailer’s customer support directly to request cancellation and any refund:
     • For Google Play purchases, see Learn about Google Play refund policies.
     • For Apple App Store purchases, request a refund from Apple support.

After the existing subscription is cancelled and any refund handled, a new Microsoft 365 subscription can be obtained using the applicable student/education discount or offer through the appropriate education channel.

If additional help is needed with billing beyond these self‑service steps, contact Microsoft Support via the Contact Support options described in the cancellation article.

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References:

• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscription
• Manage your Microsoft 365 subscription purchased through a third party