Microsoft 365 Apple purchase linked to wrong Microsoft account – Error 1303

Marti 20 Reputation points
2026-10-04T08:04:18.59+00:00

Microsoft 365 Personal purchased through Apple was associated with the wrong Microsoft account – Error 1303

Hello,

I need help understanding how a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription purchased through Apple In-App Purchase is associated with a Microsoft account.

I have two relevant accounts:

Apple Account primary email:

@gmail.com

Microsoft account on which I want to use Microsoft 365:

@outlook.com

My Apple Account also has my @outlook.com address added as an additional email address.

Before purchasing Microsoft 365 Personal, I signed out of my other Microsoft accounts in the Microsoft Copilot app on my iPhone.

At the time of purchase, Copilot showed that I was signed in with my @outlook.com Microsoft account.

I then purchased Microsoft 365 Personal for €10/month through Apple In-App Purchase.

However, Microsoft 365 Personal subsequently appeared as Active on the Microsoft account associated with my @gmail.com address, rather than on my @outlook.com Microsoft account.

When I attempted to use the subscription in Copilot while signed into my @outlook.com Microsoft account, I received:

Error 1303 – “You may already have an M365 subscription with another Microsoft account.”

I have now cancelled the Apple subscription and submitted a refund request. I do not want to purchase another subscription until I understand how to make sure it is associated with the correct Microsoft account.

I specifically want to continue purchasing and paying for Microsoft 365 Personal through Apple/App Store on my iPhone, but I want the Microsoft 365 license to be associated with my @outlook.com Microsoft account.

My questions are:

  1. Why was the Apple in-app purchase associated with my @gmail.com Microsoft account even though Copilot was signed in with my @outlook.com Microsoft account at the time of purchase?
  2. Is there an existing association between my Apple/App Store purchase history and my @gmail.com Microsoft account that causes new Microsoft 365 purchases to be linked or restored to that Microsoft account?
  3. If such an association exists, can it be removed or reset so that a future Apple in-app Microsoft 365 Personal purchase can be associated with my @outlook.com Microsoft account?
  4. If I change the primary email address of my Apple Account from my @gmail.com address to my @outlook.com address, while keeping the same Apple Account, will a NEW Microsoft 365 Personal purchase through Apple be associated with my @outlook.com Microsoft account?

Or is the primary email address of the Apple Account unrelated to which Microsoft account receives the Microsoft 365 subscription?

  1. What exact steps should I follow before making a NEW Apple in-app purchase to ensure that the Microsoft 365 Personal license is associated with my @outlook.com Microsoft account from the beginning?

I am NOT asking to transfer the cancelled subscription from one Microsoft account to another.

I want to understand how to correctly make a NEW Apple in-app purchase after the refund so that it is associated with the intended Microsoft account from the beginning.

Thank you for your help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | iOS
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Answer accepted by question author
Lucus-V 13,645 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-10-05T16:12:30.0566667+00:00

Hi Martina Mandura,

Thank you for the clarification.

Unfortunately, the Community cannot see how an Apple App Store purchase is associated with a Microsoft account, so we cannot determine why the subscription was linked to your Gmail-based Microsoft account instead of your Outlook-based account.

Since your primary concern is preventing the same issue from happening if you purchase Microsoft 365 again through Apple, I recommend contacting Apple Support before repurchasing. They may be able to explain how Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased through the App Store are associated with Microsoft accounts and whether any existing account linkage or Apple Account settings could influence that process.

As a community forum, we do not have access to the Apple purchase records or the account-association mechanisms involved in App Store transactions, so we cannot provide a guaranteed procedure to ensure that a future purchase will be linked to a specific Microsoft account.

Thank you for your understanding.

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