Microsoft 365 Family licensing snafu causes a ‘Your subscription expired’ message
Microsoft has just found a new way to interfere with its customers’ productivity. While software updates are frequent culprits for downtime, some Microsoft 365 subscribers have been hit with a warning that their subscription has expired, leaving them unable to edit Office documents.
The issue affects Microsoft 365 Family users, many of whom have been locked out of their accounts despite having a valid subscription in place. The problems started yesterday and are still ongoing for some.
You may soon have Microsoft Defender installed on your computer whether you want it or not
Microsoft has started to inform subscribers to Microsoft 365 that installing Windows 365 software will soon mean you end up with Microsoft Defender as well. Additionally, a planned automatic update for Microsoft 365 means that if you already have installed the apps you need, Defender will be added anyway.
An email sent out to people signed up for Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family says that for users of Windows 10 and Windows 11 "the Defender app will soon be automatically added" to their devices. A precise date for this has not been revealed, but Microsoft says it will start in "late February".
Full-screen Microsoft 365 trial offer is blocking access to the Windows 10 desktop
Apparently not content with irritating Windows 10 users with a rather deceptive invitation to upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft is also causing annoyance by displaying an unskippable full-screen ad that essentially forces users to install Microsoft 365 Family.
Affected users report that the nag screen is blocking access to the desktop until they agree to start a free trial of Microsoft 365 Family (which most people are still referring to as Office 365). As part of agreeing to the trial, users are asked to provide payment details, and although no charges are made until the end of the trial period, the danger is that some people will forget to cancel and will end up paying.