I managed to "fix'" this in June. You MUST have an "outlook.com" account/email address~~, such as *** Email address is removed for privacy ***~~. You need to enter that as an "alias" in your Microsoft account, where all your MSstuff is. Your extra storage subscriptions, your OneDrive account, your payment methods, and your MS 365 subscription, etc.
The SOLUTION was received in June after struggling for a month or so that I received from Microsoft follows. REMEMBER, I am just the messenger.
To be FREE you MUST have an outlook.com account. It's a @#%&! but these instructions eventually work:
Why am I seeing ads with a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Basic subscription on a non-Outlook email address?
Your ad-free subscription benefits apply automatically for all Outlook.com accounts, including those ending in outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, and msn.com*. They also apply automatically for Gmail accounts. If you have a different 3rd party email address, we are not able to detect your subscription automatically. However, you can get your ad-free benefit using the instructions below.*
- Log into https://account.microsoft.com using the email address where you purchased the subscription.
- Click on “Your Info” at the top.
- Next to the “Account info” header click on “Edit account info.” You may be prompted to log in again.
- You’ll see a list of account aliases. Click on “Add email” to add a new alias.
- Create a new Outlook.com email address by selecting, “Create a new email address and add it as an alias.”
Once you’ve followed the steps to create your new Outlook.com email address, you canadd it as an account in Outlook. Adding this account will grant your ad-free Outlook benefit.
It works but what a user-hostile bunch of @#%&!