Android MS Defender child account cannot log in. Error: Invalid licence. please contact administrator

James Roodt 0 Reputation points
2026-06-02T09:15:29.81+00:00

Good day,

I have 365 Family Classic subscription and have my child (10) set up with the Family link app. However when i try to log into MS Defender on her Samsung phone I keep getting the following error:

"Invalid licence. please contact administrator"

This also happens when i try to log in with my own account. I can log into MS defender on my own phone correctly.

I have already tried uninstalling and reinstalling the MS Defender app as well as clearing it's cache.

The phone OS is up to date and the apps are also up to date.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Microsoft 365 Defender | For home | Android
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  1. Kai-H 26,580 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-02T13:58:23.69+00:00

    Hi, James Roodt

    As your own Microsoft account works on your phone but fails on the child’s Samsung phone, this looks more like a device or parental-control conflict than a normal subscription problem. The main thing to check now is Google Family Link and cached sign-in accounts on Android.

    Here are some suggestions you can try:

    It is suggested that you temporarily remove the child’s Google account from the Samsung phone, then try signing into Microsoft Defender again. This does not delete the Google account itself. On the phone, go to Settings > Accounts, or Passwords and accounts > Google, select the child’s Google account, and remove it from the device. Then open Defender and sign in with the child’s Microsoft account. After Defender is set up, add the Google account back again.

    Also check Android Settings > Accounts for any old Microsoft, Outlook, school, or work accounts and remove them temporarily. Defender may be picking up the wrong Microsoft sign-in token from the phone.

    If Microsoft Authenticator is installed on the child’s phone, update it from Google Play, then restart the phone before trying Defender again.

    If this still fails, I would test Defender on the same child Microsoft account using a different, non-Family-Link Android device if possible. If it works there, the issue is almost certainly Family Link or Samsung/Android account management rather than the Microsoft 365 Family license itself.

    Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 


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