"Account Notice" or "We Couldn't Verify Your Subscription" in Microsoft 365? Here's the Fix

A banner appears when you open Word, Excel or another Microsoft 365 app — usually “We couldn’t verify your subscription,” an “Account Notice” asking you to update, or a prompt to reactivate.

Why: Office has to reach Microsoft over the internet every so often to confirm your subscription is still active. If it can’t for an extended period (around 30 days), it warns you and eventually drops into reduced-functionality mode. The other common trigger is a real account or billing change — a lapsed payment, or your organization moving you to a different Microsoft 365 plan. The right fix depends on which message you’re seeing.

Fix 1: “We couldn’t verify your subscription” — get online and Retry

This one means Office simply hasn’t been able to phone home, not that anything is wrong with your licence.

1. Make sure the PC is actually online (open a web page to confirm — being on Wi-Fi isn’t the same as having working internet).
2. In the warning bar or dialog, click Retry so Office re-checks the subscription status.
3. If Retry doesn’t appear, open File > Account, confirm the correct account is shown under User Information, and use the Update/Reactivate prompt there.

Fix 2: “Account Notice — please update” — let Office install the new version

This appears when your organization switched Microsoft 365 plans, so your install needs to update to the version your new plan provides.

1. When the Account Notice dialog appears, select Update.
2. If it doesn’t finish, force an update manually: File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.
3. Restart the Office apps after the update completes so the new licence takes effect.

Fix 3: Confirm the account and re-sign-in

A stale or wrong sign-in is a frequent cause of the verify-subscription nag.

1. Go to File > Account and check the email under User Information is the one with the active subscription.
2. If it’s wrong (or you have lingering credentials), Sign out, close all Office apps, then sign back in with the correct account.
3. Still nagging? Clear cached Office credentials: open Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials, expand any MicrosoftOffice entries, and Remove them. Reopen Office and sign in fresh.

Fix 4: Check that the subscription is actually paid and active

If the message keeps returning, the subscription itself may be expired or suspended.

1. Close all Office apps and go to your Subscriptions page at account.microsoft.com/services; Sign in if prompted.
2. Look for an expired or cancelled subscription, or a declined payment (an expired card is the classic cause), and renew or update the payment method.
3. Reopen Office and click Retry. If you’re stuck in reduced-functionality mode while you sort billing out, edit for free in the browser at Office.com.

FAQ

What is “reduced functionality mode”? After about 30 days without a successful check, Office lets you open and print documents but blocks editing and creating new ones until you reactivate.

The Retry button does nothing. That points to a connectivity or account problem rather than a click that didn’t register — check you’re genuinely online (Fix 1) and that the right account is signed in (Fix 3). A corporate proxy or firewall blocking Microsoft’s licensing servers will also cause this.

Why does this keep coming back every month? Either the device is rarely online long enough for Office to verify, or there’s an unresolved billing/account issue. Fix 4 (active, paid subscription) plus a stable internet connection stops the recurrence.

Sources: Microsoft Support — A subscription notice appears when I open a Microsoft 365 application · Microsoft Learn — Account or subscription verification errors activating Microsoft 365 Apps