A Microsoft offering that enables tracking of cloud usage and expenditures for Azure and other cloud providers.
For a disabled Visual Studio Enterprise (MPN) Azure subscription with remaining credit, the options depend on why it was disabled.
- If the Visual Studio subscription itself expired or was removed
- When a Visual Studio subscription ends, all benefits including the monthly Azure dev/test credit stop.
- The associated Azure credit subscription is then disabled at the time specified in the email notifications.
- To continue using Azure with monthly credit, do one of the following:
- Renew the Visual Studio Enterprise subscription.
- Purchase a new Visual Studio subscription that includes Azure dev/test credit.
- Ask the organization’s Visual Studio subscription admin to assign a new subscription that includes the monthly credit.
- To preserve existing resources, transfer them to another Azure subscription (for example, another dev/test or pay-as-you-go subscription) before the current subscription is disabled. Use the documented resource move process to move resource groups/subscriptions.
- If the Azure credit subscription is already disabled
- Once the Azure subscription created from Visual Studio credit is disabled, it can be re-enabled only as a pay-as-you-go subscription by switching the offer:
- Follow the documented steps to switch the Azure offer so the disabled dev/test credit subscription becomes a pay-as-you-go subscription.
- After conversion, charges are billed normally (no dev/test credit), but existing resources become usable again.
- If the issue is a general disabled Azure subscription (billing/spending limit)
- Common reasons and actions:
- Credit or spending limit reached: remove the spending limit so the subscription can continue as pay-as-you-go.
- Past-due bill: pay the outstanding balance; reactivation can take up to 24 hours.
- Canceled subscription (pay-as-you-go): sign in to the Azure portal → Subscriptions → select the canceled subscription → Reactivate.
- After reactivation, most resources resume automatically, but some may need to be manually restarted.
- If the subscription was blocked or deleted due to inactivity
- If only blocked, follow the guidance in the inactivity article to understand what happens and how to proceed.
- If the subscription was deleted due to inactivity, it cannot be reactivated; a new subscription must be created and resources recreated from backups if available.
- If partner/MPN is involved via a CSP partner
- If the Visual Studio Enterprise (MPN) Azure subscription is under a partner’s Azure plan, the partner (with global admin + admin agent roles) can reactivate canceled Azure subscriptions from Partner Center under the customer’s Azure plan → Inactive Azure subscriptions → Reactivate subscription.
- If the customer or billing owner canceled it in the Azure portal, that owner must sign in and complete the reactivation.
- When to contact support
- If the subscription is disabled and the portal does not show a clear banner or option to reactivate, or if reactivation does not complete within the documented time, open a free Azure billing support request so a billing engineer can review the subscription state and available options.
Summary of practical steps:
- Confirm whether the Visual Studio Enterprise subscription (MPN) is still active; if not, renew or obtain a new one if monthly credit is required.
- If the Azure subscription is disabled, either:
- Convert it to pay-as-you-go (switch offer) to re-enable and use existing resources, or
- If still active but limited, remove the spending limit or resolve any past-due balance.
- If managed via a partner, ask the partner to reactivate the Azure subscription in Partner Center.
- If none of the above options appear in the portal, raise an Azure billing support request for direct assistance.
References:
- Reactivate a disabled Azure subscription
- Renew an expired subscription, purchase a new one, or transfer your Azure resources
- Get started with your individual Azure Credit Subscription
- Maintain a Visual Studio subscription for Azure credit access
- Azure for Visual Studio subscribers
- Manage subscriptions and resources under the Azure plan
- I need help with bill waiver on my subscription but cannot open a support ticket. - Microsoft Q&A