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I have M 365 Personal Direct Debit on W10 Laptop and Surface Pro 2 etc. Now have Pro 12

JWH 20 Reputation points
2026-03-24T15:19:35.7733333+00:00

I have Microsoft 365 Personal on W10 Laptop, Surface 2 Tablet and Android phones etc paying the security supplement for a year. Recently bought Surface Pro 12 Tablet and a copy of M365 which I thought I would need for W12! Did I need to buy it?

If I register the new 356 which has extended 13 months subscription and cancel the current annual subscription will I loose anything on any of the other devices.

Moved from Microsoft 365 and Office | Open Specifications

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | Windows

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  1. Kal-D 7,355 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-24T19:49:02.9433333+00:00

    Hi JWH,

    You did not need to buy a separate Microsoft 365 Personal subscription for the new Surface Pro. Your existing Microsoft 365 Personal subscription already covers installs on your devices. Microsoft’s consumer wording is that you can install the apps on your devices and be signed in on up to five at the same time, which comfortably covers the setup you described. A Surface Pro running Windows 11 is fully supported under the same subscription.

    If the new purchase has not been redeemed yet, the safest option is to redeem it on the same Microsoft account that already holds your current Microsoft 365 Personal subscription. That will extend the expiry date of the existing subscription rather than replace it. After that, you can turn off recurring billing so you are not charged again at the next renewal. This does not cancel the subscription immediately and should not affect your other devices, as long as they are all signed in with the same Microsoft account and there is no gap in service.

    One extra thing to keep in mind is that if there is ever a gap between subscriptions, your storage allowance will drop back to the free 5 GB tier. If your usage is above that limit, your OneDrive files remain intact, but you may be unable to upload, edit, or sync new files until the subscription is active again or usage is reduced.

    If the extra copy is still unredeemed, you could also check whether it falls within the seller’s or Microsoft Store’s return or refund window. Eligibility depends on where it was purchased, whether it was digital or physical, and the applicable return policy.

    The main things to avoid are redeeming the new key on a different Microsoft account or cancelling the subscription outright instead of simply turning off recurring billing.

    Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

    I'm looking forward to your reply.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  1. JWH 20 Reputation points
    2026-05-05T13:26:18.39+00:00

    Hello Kal-D, a very belated Thank You.

    I have just redeemed the new 15 month extended 365 subscription. The renewal date shows correct in 2027.

    I'll cancel the recurring payment shortly just in case the gremlins try to take the old renewal amount next week.

    Sincerely

    John

  2. JWH 20 Reputation points
    2026-03-24T21:12:59.41+00:00

    Thank you Kal-D, most helpful. I will start following the advice tomorrow with a ckear head.

    Sincerely

    John

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