microsoft365 family needs to know I am now sharing from a new owner.

This usually happens because the apps or OneDrive are still signed in with the old expired subscription, even though the Microsoft 365 Family share was accepted from the new owner.

Use this end-to-end check:

1. Confirm the shared Family benefit is active on the correct Microsoft account.
   • Sign in to account.microsoft.com/services with the exact Microsoft account that accepted the invitation.
   • Verify that Microsoft 365 shows as shared by the new owner.
   • If it does not appear, the subscription holder must verify sharing and, if needed, remove and re-share the subscription invitation.
2. If the invitation was just accepted, wait for the entitlement to update.
   • After accepting a shared subscription, changes such as storage can take time to appear.
   • For OneDrive storage, Microsoft states it may take up to 2 hours. Then go to Manage storage, refresh, and check again.
3. Sign out of Office apps that are still using the old subscription.
   • Open Word or Excel.
   • Go to File > Account.
   • Sign out of every old account shown under the app account area.
   • Close all Office apps.
4. Sign back in with the account that has the Family share.
   • Reopen Word or Excel.
   • Go to File > Account > Sign in.
   • Use the same Microsoft account that shows the Family subscription as shared on the Services page.
   • The apps should then activate under the shared Family benefit instead of the expired subscription.
5. Reconnect OneDrive with the same shared account.
   • Select the OneDrive cloud icon.
   • Open Settings > Account.
   • Choose Unlink this PC.
   • Sign in again with the Microsoft account that accepted the Family share.
   • This is important because each account has its own storage quota.
6. If the old subscription is still being cached on the PC, clear old sign-in traces.
   • In Windows, check Settings > Accounts > Email and accounts and remove the old Microsoft account under accounts used by other apps if it is still listed.
   • If needed, also check Credential Manager > Windows Credentials and remove old Office/OneDrive sign-in entries.
   • Restart the PC, then sign in again to Office and OneDrive with the shared Family account.
7. If the new owner recently changed, note the ownership limitation.
   • Microsoft 365 Family sharing ownership cannot be transferred directly during an active subscription period.
   • The old subscription must expire, and the new owner must purchase their own subscription and manually share it.
   • If that has already been done, the new owner may still need to remove and re-share the invitation.

What to expect after it is fixed:

• The shared account should show Microsoft 365 Family as active under Services.
• Office desktop apps should stop showing expired-subscription prompts.
• OneDrive storage should move from 5 GB to the shared 1 TB benefit.

If the Family share is visible on the Services page but Word still shows the expired state, the most likely fix is signing out everywhere in Office and OneDrive, unlinking OneDrive, restarting, and signing back in only with the shared account.

• Transfer a Microsoft 365 subscription to another account
• Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription
• Troubleshoot sharing a Microsoft 365 subscription
• I had a personal account, my husband has family account I want to join the family but had to cancel personal first, but it does not show on my page that i am linked to the family subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• Switched from my personal account to a family account owned by my cousin and I no longer have access to my files. - Microsoft Q&A
• Old 365 subscription preventing me from using new subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• What happens when your Microsoft 365 subscription expires