I am adding my son to family 365 but he gets error message

Complete the sharing invitation with your son’s personal Microsoft account before activating Office, then install Microsoft 365 from his own account dashboard rather than using your product key.

1. Confirm that sharing is complete

1. Sign in as the subscription owner at the Microsoft 365 sharing page.
2. Find your son:
   • If it says Pending invite, select Resend invite.
   • If he is not listed, select Share, then send an email invitation or create a sharing link.
3. On his computer, have him open the invitation and sign in with his personal Microsoft account—the same address to which you sent the invitation.
4. Select Get started, followed by Join now. The invitation must be accepted within 48 hours. Until he joins your family group, the subscription benefits are not assigned to his account.[^1^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Share your Microsoft 365 subscription | Microsoft Support")
5. Return to your sharing page and verify that his entry no longer says Pending invite.

If he is already in another Microsoft family group, he must leave that group before joining yours. A person must remain in the subscription owner’s family group to use the shared benefits.[^1^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Share your Microsoft 365 subscription | Microsoft Support")

Also confirm that:

• Your Microsoft 365 Family subscription is active.
• You are its account holder.
• At least one of the five sharing places remains available.[^2^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription")

2. Install and activate from your son’s account

After his invitation is fully accepted:

1. On his new PC, sign in to Services & subscriptions using his account, not yours.
2. Confirm that the shared Microsoft 365 subscription appears.
3. Select Install and complete the installation.
4. Open Word.
5. If prompted, sign in using the same personal Microsoft account that accepted the invitation.

Do not enter or share your Microsoft 365 product key. Product keys are not used to share Family subscriptions.[^2^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription")

If the subscription appears but activation still fails

On his PC, open Word → File → Account and check the signed-in account. Sign out of any different personal, work, or school account, close Word, reopen it, and sign in with the personal account that accepted the sharing invitation. Using the wrong account prevents Office from finding the assigned subscription.^3^

If the correct subscription is shown online but Office remains unlicensed:

1. Run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter on that same PC.
2. When prompted, select Open to launch Get Help.
3. Complete the prompts and restart Office.

The troubleshooter requires Windows 10 or later.^4^

Only if the error includes 0xC004F200

That code on a new PC means Windows must finish activating before the preinstalled Office setup can complete:

1. Search Windows for Activation.
2. Open Activation settings and confirm it says Windows is activated.
3. If Windows was just activated, allow up to 30 minutes.
4. Reopen Word and activate with your son’s account.^5^

If none of these branches applies, note the complete error text and any numeric error code; “Sorry, something went wrong” alone does not identify which activation failure occurred.

References

1. [Share your Microsoft 365 subscription | Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID])
2. [Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID])
3. Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office
4. Office error "Account Notice: We've run into a problem with your Microsoft 365 subscription" | Microsoft Support
5. An error occurs when you activate pre-installed Office on a new PC (0xC004F200) | Microsoft Support