Microsoft is ready to badger Microsoft 365 subscribers to renew via a full screen nag
Microsoft is by no means a stranger to nagging its customers in one way or another – usually with the intention of parting people from their money. In a somewhat unusual move, the company has used the latest preview builds of Windows 11 to introduce a way to pester Microsoft 365 (or “Office” to most of us) subscribers.
A full screen “reminder” – or nag screen – has been added in the Dev and Beta builds of Windows 11 released to Windows Insiders. Microsoft, of course, is talking about it in rather different terms.
The company refers to the large nag screen as both a SCOOBE screen and a “simple reminder”. What is a SCOOBE screen you might well ask? It stands for Second Chance Out of Box Experience (rather than the OOBE, or Out of Box Experience we’re used to for Windows).
What many people will see as a nag screen, Microsoft views as a helpful reminder. In the release notes for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6682 released to the Beta Channel, Microsoft slips in news of the new full-screen reminder in a nondescript “Other” section:
We’re introducing a simple reminder that appears as a SCOOBE screen (Second Chance Out of Box Experience) to let you know your Microsoft subscription needs attention (for example, if a renewal payment didn’t go through). In just a few clicks, you can review and update your payment method and keep your subscription benefits uninterrupted.
There is obviously some benefit in reminding customers to keep their subscriptions active – users enjoy continued access to their software, and Microsoft (to put it bluntly) gets money. The size, placement and wording of the reminder suggests a degree of urgency that is likely to force a lot of people to unthinkingly renew their subscription without taking the time to look elsewhere or decide if they really need to keep paying for a subscription rather than opting for a free alternative.
There is a way to opt out of seeing this and similar notification, though. As Neowin notes, if you head to System > Notification > Additional Notifications in the Settings app, opting out is possible.
It is also worth noting that the fact that this screen appears in the beta builds of Windows 11, it does not necessarily follow that it will make its way into the main release. It could do, it probably will, but it may not. And as Microsoft is actively seeking feedback, it could be that the screen changes appearance or wording, but we will just have to wait and see.