Collegue on a different email address was invited to Microsoft 365 Family Subscription, but she is unable to get in

Patrick Howard 0 Reputation points
2025-12-04T14:20:13.0866667+00:00

Got email invite to join invited you to join their Microsoft 365 Family Subscription.

When get started link is used from the body of the email, it takes to Join Microsoft 365 Family subscription

When sign in is selected, I put in the email that was used, and I get: We couldn't find a Microsoft account. Try entering your details again or create an account. When I try to create a Microsoft account it tells me: You can't sign up with a work or school email. Use your personal email instead.

Getting nowhere with this.

<Moved from Office/Access>

Move form: Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For business | Windows

Microsoft 365 and Office | Microsoft Family Safety | Other | Windows
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2025-12-04T14:20:25.04+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    It seems that your colleague is encountering issues because she is trying to sign up for a Microsoft 365 Family Subscription using a work or school email address. Microsoft does not allow the creation of personal Microsoft accounts using work or school email addresses. Instead, she needs to use a personal email address to create a Microsoft account or to accept the invitation.

    Here are the steps she can take:

    1. Use a Personal Email: If she has a personal email address, she should use that to create a Microsoft account and then accept the invitation.
    2. Rename Existing Account: If her work or school email is linked to a personal Microsoft account, she may need to rename her personal account to free up the email address for use with her work account. This can be done by following the steps outlined in the Microsoft support documentation.
    3. Contact Admin: If she is unable to resolve the issue, it may be helpful to contact her IT department or Microsoft support for further assistance.

    Following these steps should help her access the Microsoft 365 Family Subscription successfully.

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  2. Katerina-N 3,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-12-04T21:14:52.7066667+00:00

    Hello Patrick Howard,

    Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

    I understand that you are having issue with Microsoft 365 Family's invitation. I truly understand how you feel. Let me assist you go through this situation.

    As your description, this situation happens because Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions only work with personal Microsoft accounts, not work or school accounts.

    • Your colleague clicked the invite link and tried to sign in with their work or school email.
    • Microsoft does not allow creating a personal Microsoft account using a work or school domain (e.g., company email).
    • That’s why they see: “We couldn't find a Microsoft account” and “You can't sign up with a work or school email.”

    Therefore, please follow these steps to fix it:

    1. Use a personal Microsoft account
      • They need to sign in with an existing personal Microsoft account (e.g., Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, Live.com) or create one using a personal email address (like Gmail or Yahoo).
      • If they don’t have one, they can create it here: https://signup.live.com/
    2. Accept the invitation again
      • After signing in with the personal account, click the Get started link in the invitation email.
      • If the link expired, you (as the subscription owner) can resend the invite from: https://account.microsoft.com/services
    3. Optional: Add their work email as an alias
      • If they want to keep using their work email for communication, they can add it as an alias to their personal Microsoft account: https://account.microsoft.com/profile
      • But the primary sign-in must still be the personal account.

    I hope this will help with your situation. Please feel free to reach back if you have further update or more questions.

    Best Regards,


    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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  3. Katerina-N 3,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-12-06T00:38:59.5333333+00:00

    Hello Patrick Howard,

    I hope you're having a nice day! I wanted to follow up to see if you need any additional help. I hope everything is going well on your part.

    If you have any doubts, need clarification, or new questions have arisen, don't hesitate to get in touch. I am here to support you and happy to help.

    Your satisfaction is important to me, and I want to make sure you feel safe and supported throughout the process. Just tell me how I can help you more.

    I look forward to hearing from you!

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