What Happens to Microsoft 365 Family Settings After Leaving and Rejoining?
Question details
Users need to know how leaving and subsequently rejoining a Microsoft 365 Family subscription affects their Office applications, OneDrive storage, and family safety settings.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Leaving a shared Microsoft 365 Family subscription and planning to rejoin later.
- Observed behavior
- Office applications and OneDrive enter a read-only state upon leaving the group, and full functionality is restored once the user rejoins the subscription.
Verify that your Microsoft account is currently active and check your OneDrive storage capacity to ensure your files are within the free limit while temporarily disconnected from the Family plan.
Restore Application Functionality by Rejoining the Family Subscription
Understand how the transition from read-only mode back to full access works when rejoining a Microsoft 365 Family plan, and how to verify your settings.
When you leave a shared Microsoft 365 Family subscription, your account loses its premium license. This immediately downgrades your Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to read-only mode, meaning you can view files but cannot edit them or create new ones.
Your OneDrive storage limit will also drop from 1TB back to the free 5GB tier. If your stored files exceed 5GB, OneDrive becomes read-only. Fortunately, Microsoft does not delete your files immediately. Rejoining the Family subscription will restore full editing functionality and your 1TB storage limit.
Ask the Family subscription organizer to send you a new sharing invitation via email or direct link. Click the 'Accept' button in the invitation and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Open any Office application like Word or Excel. Go to 'File' > 'Account' and check the 'Product Information' section to ensure it now displays 'Subscription Product: Microsoft 365'.
Log into OneDrive online or click the OneDrive icon in your system tray. Verify that your storage quota has returned to 1TB and that you can successfully upload or edit files.
If you use Microsoft Family Safety, log into your Microsoft Family dashboard. Check if screen time limits, blocked-content settings, and usage limits need to be reconfigured by the organizer.
Use WPS Office as a Free Alternative to Microsoft 365
If your Microsoft 365 Family subscription has expired or your applications are stuck in read-only mode, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a comprehensive, lightweight suite without the hassle of managing shared subscriptions or worrying about family group changes.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS Office website and click 'Free Download' to get the installer.
- 2. Install the application: Run the downloaded installation file and follow the on-screen prompts to set up the software.
- 3. Open and edit your files: Launch WPS Office and directly open your existing Microsoft Office documents to resume editing without limitations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my OneDrive files be deleted if I leave a Microsoft 365 Family subscription?
Your files will not be immediately deleted. However, your storage limit will revert to the free 5GB tier. If your files exceed this amount, your OneDrive will become read-only. You will not be able to upload new files until you free up space, buy more storage, or rejoin the subscription.
How long does it take for Office apps to work after rejoining the Family plan?
Once you accept the invitation to rejoin the Microsoft 365 Family subscription, the premium features are usually restored instantly. You may need to close and reopen your Office applications, or sign out and sign back in to refresh the license status.
What happens to Family Safety settings when someone leaves the group?
When an account leaves the Microsoft Family group, any associated parental controls, screen time limits, and content restrictions are typically removed from that account. Upon rejoining, the family organizer will need to set up those safety controls again.
