purchased office 365 family and it is not working

To share a Microsoft 365 Family subscription and resolve common “not working when sharing” issues, check the following points step by step:

1. Confirm the correct subscription type

• Sharing is only available with Microsoft 365 Family or Microsoft 365 Premium.
• If Share subscription does not appear on the Subscriptions page, then the account does not have a Microsoft 365 Family subscription and sharing will not work.

2. Share the subscription correctly

• Sign in with the subscription owner’s Microsoft account at the Sharing page: https://account.microsoft.com/services/office/sharing
• On the Sharing tab, select Start sharing.
• Choose one of:
  • Invite via email: enter the person’s email and select Invite. They must accept using the same email account.
  • Invite via link: select Copy and send the link. When they click the link and sign in with their Microsoft account, they are added to the subscription.
• Do not try to share using a product key; product keys cannot be used for sharing.

3. Ensure the invitee joins the family group

• Once the invitee accepts the sharing invitation, they automatically become a member of the subscription owner’s family group.
• Sharing only works while the invitee remains in the subscription owner’s family group.
• If the invitee sees “It looks like you're already in a family group”, they must leave their existing family group first, then accept the new invitation.

4. Check common sharing problems

• Sharing not available:
  • Verify the subscription is active Microsoft 365 Family or Premium.
  • Confirm there are still shares available (maximum five other people).
  • Confirm the person is not already part of another shared Microsoft 365 subscription with full benefits.
• Invitation not received:
  • Confirm the correct email address was used.
  • Ask the invitee to check junk/spam for a message with “Microsoft 365” in the subject.

5. OneDrive storage or features not appearing

• After the invitee accepts, it can take up to 2 hours for OneDrive storage to update. They should go to Manage storage, refresh the page, and check for the increased quota.
• Extended storage options and AI features like Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook are only available to the subscription owner and cannot be shared.

If sharing still does not work after confirming all of the above, remove the person from sharing/family group and send a new invitation from the Sharing page, ensuring they are not in another family group or shared subscription.

References:

• How to share your Microsoft 365 Family subscription
• Share your Microsoft 365 Family or Premium subscription
• Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription