New Outlook displays ads for Gmail account despite Microsoft 365 Family "ad-free Outlook" benefit

Leslie Cole 20 Reputation points
2026-07-02T17:47:46.1133333+00:00

II'm hoping someone can clarify whether this is expected behavior or a licensing issue.

I have a Microsoft account using [[Moderator Note: Personal Info Removed]] that is an active member of a Microsoft 365 Family subscription shared by my husband.

My Microsoft account shows:

  • Microsoft 365 Family
  • Shared and managed by Glenn Cole
  • 1 TB OneDrive
  • "Ad-free Outlook" listed as one of my benefits

I use New Outlook for Windows with my Gmail account.

For approximately 3–4 weeks after setting everything up, New Outlook displayed no advertisements.

Then, without making any changes to my Microsoft 365 Family membership or Outlook configuration, advertisements suddenly began appearing at the top of my Inbox.

Classic Outlook on the same Windows 11 computer does not display advertisements.

New Outlook prompted me to add/link my Microsoft account. I completed the Microsoft sign-in successfully, verified my identity, and Outlook attempted to link my Microsoft account. The process failed with:

  • Error Code: 2148073526 (0x80090036)
  • Tag: 7q6ca

After that attempt, the "Linked Microsoft Account" section disappeared from Outlook settings, but advertisements continue to appear.

Microsoft Support told me that New Outlook is free and therefore has ads, but they did not answer my actual question.

My question is this:

Should a Microsoft 365 Family subscriber who is using a Gmail account in New Outlook receive the advertised "ad-free Outlook" benefit, or is that benefit only intended for Outlook.com mailboxes?

If it should apply to Gmail accounts, what would explain the advertisements and the failed account-linking process?

Thank you.

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home
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Answer accepted by question author
Chloe-V 13,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-07-09T07:21:30.8966667+00:00

Hi Leslie Cole,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Based on Microsoft’s guidance, Gmail accounts are supported in New Outlook for Windows, and the ad-free Outlook benefit from Microsoft 365 Personal/Family can apply to Gmail accounts as well, as long as Outlook can recognize the Microsoft 365 subscription benefit.

In your case, since your Microsoft account shows an active Microsoft 365 Family benefit but the account-linking process failed with 2148073526 / 0x80090036, the ads may be appearing because New Outlook has not successfully recognized or applied the subscription entitlement to your Gmail account. This looks more like a Microsoft 365 entitlement/account-linking issue in New Outlook rather than expected free Outlook ad behavior.

You can try the following basic checks first:

  • Update New Outlook for Windows from Microsoft Store.
  • Restart Outlook and your device.
  • In New Outlook, go to Settings > Accounts and check whether the Microsoft account with the Microsoft 365 Family benefit is listed.
  • If it is not listed, sign out and sign back in with the Microsoft account that has the subscription benefit.
  • If needed, remove and re-add the Gmail account in New Outlook, then check whether the ads still appear.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

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