Problems sharing MS 365 within Family Group

Question

I have been trying to share my subscription (5 users) with my remaining 2 licenses, but we are getting error messages, including "Account creation blocked" and "no MS account". I've already shared 3 of the 5 licenses, but now can't have my other 2 users get access. Help!

Answer 1

Hello,

Are you trying to create a new Microsoft Account for them and trying to Share the Office 365 Family Subscription?

If you haven't created the account yet and are trying to share the subscription with that address, you may get a "no MS account" error.

If you get "Account Creation Blocked" when creating a new Microsoft Account, here's what you can do:

This issue might be related to the specific Wi‑Fi network you’re connected to. For example, your IP address may be blocked from creating a new Microsoft account.

• If you are using a VPN, temporarily disable it and try creating a new Microsoft account again.
• If you’re not using a VPN, connect your PC to a different Wi‑Fi network, such as a mobile hotspot, and open a private browsing window (Incognito/InPrivate Browsing) in different browsers like Edge or Chrome.
• Then try creating a new Microsoft account using this link:

https://signup.live.com/

Once created, make sure you add a recovery email address for the account you created.

Then, go to the Services & Subscriptions page and send the invite to that email address. (OR) You can send the invitation through text and ask them to access the link and sign in to join the Family subscription.

Let me know how it goes.

Answer 2

1. Confirm the subscription is eligible for sharing. Sharing is available only for Microsoft 365 Family, Premium, and Pro, and only the subscription holder can share it.
2. Check the sharing status on the Services & subscriptions page. If Share subscription is not shown there, the account does not have a shareable subscription.
3. Verify the remaining share count. A Microsoft 365 Family subscription can be shared with up to five other people. Since 3 are already shared, 2 remaining is valid only if those 3 users fully accepted and joined correctly.
4. For each of the two people who cannot join:
   • Make sure the invitation was sent to their preferred email address.
   • Ask them to check Junk mail for a message with "Microsoft 365" in the subject.
   • If the invite is still pending, resend it.
5. The invited person must complete both steps:
   • Select Accept in the invitation email.
   • Select Join now to join the Microsoft family group.
   The subscription dashboard updates only after they join the family group.
6. If either person is already in another Microsoft family group, they must leave that family group first before accepting the invitation. Otherwise they can see errors related to joining or account setup.
7. If either person does not have a Microsoft account yet, they must create one during the acceptance flow before the shared subscription can be used.
8. Do not use a product key to share the subscription. Sharing must be done by email invite or share link from the sharing page.
9. To send the share again:
   • Go to the Microsoft 365 sharing page.
   • Select Share.
   • Choose Email invite or Create link.
   • The invite must be accepted within 48 hours.
10. After acceptance, the invited person can install and use Microsoft 365 from their own account dashboard.

If the two users still fail after these checks, the most likely blockers supported here are:

• wrong email used for the invite
• invitation stuck in junk mail or still pending
• the person has not selected Join now
• the person is already in another family group
• the person has no Microsoft account yet

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References:

• Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription
• Share your Microsoft 365 subscription
• Someone invited you to share their Microsoft 365 subscription
• Microsoft 365 subscription sharing FAQs