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How to Share Your Microsoft 365 Family Subscription with Other Users
Question details
The user wants to know how to properly share a Microsoft 365 Family subscription with up to five additional people.
- Product
- Microsoft 365 Family
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Distributing the benefits of a single Microsoft 365 Family plan to family members or friends so they can use the software under their own separate accounts.
- Observed behavior
- The primary subscriber needs to distribute access to Microsoft 365 Family benefits to up to five other individuals so that each person can manage their own installations and storage independently, rather than reusing the original product key.
Ensure you are signed in as the primary subscription owner of an active Microsoft 365 Family plan and have the email addresses or contact methods ready for the people you wish to invite.
Share the Subscription via Email or Link Invitation
The official and most secure way to share your Microsoft 365 Family benefits is by sending an invite directly from your Microsoft account dashboard.
Microsoft 365 Family allows the main subscriber to share benefits with up to five other individuals. Each person invited gets their own 1 TB of OneDrive storage and can install the Office apps on their personal devices.
It is crucial that each person uses their own distinct Microsoft account to accept the invitation instead of sharing your login credentials or reusing the initial product key.
Sign in to the Microsoft account Sharing page using the credentials of the account that purchased the Microsoft 365 Family subscription.
Locate the sharing section on your dashboard and click the 'Start sharing' button to initiate the invitation process.
Select 'Invite via email' to send an automated email directly to the user's inbox, or choose 'Invite via link' to generate a URL that you can copy and paste into a text message or chat.
The recipient must click 'Accept' within the email or click the shared link, and then sign in using their own personal Microsoft account.
Once the invitation is accepted, the invited user can navigate to their own Microsoft account dashboard to download and install the Microsoft 365 desktop applications.
Switch to WPS Office for a Free, Hassle-Free Household Solution
If managing Microsoft 365 subscription limits, sharing links, and account activations becomes too complex or costly, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a robust, free alternative to Microsoft Office that anyone in your household can download and use instantly without needing complex sharing invitations or paid family plans.
- 1. Download the Installer: Visit the official WPS Office website and click the 'Free Download' button.
- 2. Install WPS Office: Run the downloaded installer and follow the quick on-screen instructions.
- 3. Start Creating: Open WPS Office to instantly begin working on Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do invited users need to pay for the shared Microsoft 365 Family subscription?
No, the primary subscription owner covers the entire cost of the plan. The five invited users receive the premium Microsoft 365 benefits completely free of charge.
Can I share my Microsoft 365 Personal subscription?
No, subscription sharing is an exclusive feature of the Microsoft 365 Family plan. Personal plans are limited strictly to a single user account.
Why is my invited family member experiencing an activation error after installing?
This typically occurs if the invited user had a preinstalled Microsoft 365 trial or an older version of Office on their device. Have them completely uninstall the previous or trial versions, restart their computer, and reinstall the shared version from their own Microsoft account dashboard.
How many devices can an invited user install Office on?
Every person sharing the Microsoft 365 Family subscription (the owner plus the five invited guests) can install the Office applications on all their devices, and each person can be signed into up to five devices simultaneously.
