Unable to use my family invitation subscription

Jaime Clark 0 Reputation points
2026-03-06T12:12:59.24+00:00

I let my Microsoft 365 subscription expire and then joined another persons family subscription. When I open my outlook email it still says subscription cancelled please reactivate. How can I get Microsoft to be alerted that I do not want to reactivate? I am using same email address.

It states I am part of the new family group when i log on to Microsoft website but not in my email app on laptop

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Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-03-06T12:13:15.2+00:00

    The Outlook desktop app is still using the old, expired subscription and needs to refresh its license and account info.

    Follow these steps on the laptop where Outlook shows “SUBSCRIPTION CANCELLED”:

    1. Confirm the new subscription is active
      • In a browser, sign in with the same email address to the Microsoft account dashboard and verify that the shared Microsoft 365 Family subscription appears and is active.
      • Make sure the invitation to share the subscription was accepted and that the account is in the family group. See the steps in “Someone invited you to share their Microsoft 365 subscription”.
    2. Make sure Outlook is signed in with the same account that has the Family share
      • In Outlook, go to File → Office Account (or Account).
      • Under User Information, check which email address is shown.
      • If it is not the account that is part of the family subscription, sign out there and sign in with the correct Microsoft account.
    3. Refresh the license in the Office app
      • Still in File → Account, look for an option such as Update License or Manage Account.
      • Sign out of Office, close Outlook and all other Office apps.
      • Reopen Outlook and sign back in with the account that is in the family group so it can pick up the shared subscription.
    4. If the banner still appears after confirming the account and refreshing the license
      • Check the subscription status again online to ensure it is active and correctly shared.
      • If the subscription is active and Outlook still shows “subscription cancelled”, contact Microsoft Support for further help, as suggested in the subscription-notice article.

    If nothing is done, Outlook will remain in reduced functionality mode (open/print only, no editing or new items), so ensuring the correct account is signed in and the license is refreshed is required.

    References:

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