How to Change Microsoft 365 from Personal to Family Plan?
User Query: “For the past 2 years I have been using a personal account in Office 365. This is very helpful in my day-to-day life however my family is expanding, so, I want to switch my account to a family plan. Can you please explain how I can do that and also want to transfer my data?”
One of our clients posted this query about upgrading Office 365 subscriptions from personal to family. We thought we would share the answer with everyone. Therefore, this article will discuss how you can upgrade Microsoft 365 personal to family and address your doubts.
Overview of Microsoft 365
Office 365 or Microsoft 365 is a suite launched by Microsoft. It offers you cloud services to store and manage your data. In this, you will find many Office products like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. Many companies use this suite to help improve their productivity, collaboration, and communication.
Office 365 comes in different plans with different features. Microsoft 365 Personal subscription is for one person and gives a variety of features. The family Office 365 plan is for six people and provides more advanced features than the personal plan. Both are affordable to purchase and give you plenty of functions to help you in your work. So, if you are thinking of upgrading your program. Then we will help you by giving you the necessary details.
Why Switch from Office 365 Personal to Family
Before heading to the main topic let’s discuss the reasons for changing your subscription. Below we have mentioned points that support this idea.
- A personal account allows you to have only one account but in a family plan, you can create six individual accounts accessing the premium account.
- In the family account, you will get 1 TB storage space per account. It means you will get a total of 6 TB of storage which is more than the personal. So, to increase the storage space you can upgrade your account.
- It is very cost-effective because instead of buying multiple personal accounts. You can use a family option which is much affordable.
- With the upgrade account, you will get more advanced features like Microsoft Family Safety to manage screen time, app usage, etc.
Hence, there are many advantages you will get when upgrading your account. Now, we are going to explain the steps of changing your Office 365 account.
How to Upgrade Microsoft Personal to Family Plan?
If you have a personal account and want to switch to the family account. You can do this by using the same account. For this, follow the steps below.
- Run the Microsoft 365 site and sign in to your account.
- Click on your profile and proceed to the Subscription Management page.
- Select the current Microsoft 365 personal subscription on the subscription page.
- Click on the “Upgrade” or “Switch” button display in front of you.
- From the list of plans select the “Microsoft 365 Family” option.
- Read the details of your family subscription.
- Again, press the “Upgrade” or “Switch” option to upgrade your account.
- After that, follow the instructions properly.
With these steps your Microsoft account is updated and now you can take the benefits from this account.
Difference Between Office 365 Personal and Family Subscription
Now, you know how to upgrade your Microsoft 365 personal to family. So let’s know more about these plans in detail. Below we compare personal and family plan features for your better understanding.
| Basis | Microsoft 365 Personal | Microsoft 365 Family |
|---|---|---|
| Number of User Accounts | Users can create only one account. | It allows you to create six accounts. |
| Storage in Cloud | 1 TB storage space | 1 TB storage per user (Total = 6TB storage) |
| Microsoft Applications | Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access (only on PC), Publisher (PC only) | Same as Personal account |
| Device Installation | Only one person i.e. the user can access their account on multiple devices. | Each user can access their account on multiple devices. |
| Collaboration | You get the basic sharing services | In the Family plan every member gets separate OneDrive storage. |
| Security Measures | Provide standard security features | Offers advanced security measures with standard. Such as Parental controls, location tracking, etc. |
From these, you will now understand the difference between these two accounts in terms of features. Till now we have been discussing changing our accounts. But the real question is how can I migrate data from Office 365 account to another account.
How to Manage your Microsoft 365 Data?
When you are switching your subscription, the first problem is safely moving your data. If you use the same email to upgrade your file, then your emails, contacts, and other information which are automatically saved into your new account. However, if you are canceling your personal account and creating a new one. Then, you should first take the backup of your entire account and then cancel it.
To convert Microsoft 365 personal data to family, we introduce you to the Corbett Office 365 Backup Tool. This is great software to store your entire Microsoft 365 account with attachments. It is a Windows-based software that you can download on any Windows OS. Users can easily navigate through the tool because of its user-friendly interface. The tool has the option to export your Office 365 emails into different formats and any email client. You can use this tool without worrying about data integrity and folder hierarchy.
Final Words
In this blog, we have learned how you can upgrade Microsoft 365 personal to family. Here, we have provided the reason for switching your account and the steps to change your plans. We also explained the difference between personal and family plans. At last, a solution to manage your Microsoft 365 data during the process of switching your account.