A1 Plus Liceneses

Hi @Sonja Ring,

Thank you for reaching out regarding the missing Microsoft 365 A1 Plus licenses for your teachers and students. I understand how concerning this can be, especially when licenses are required to ensure uninterrupted access to educational services.

Microsoft has been retiring the Office 365 A1 Plus program, and the symptoms you’re experiencing are consistent with this change. As part of the retirement, A1 Plus licenses no longer appear under “Your products”, and affected users are typically moved to another available license - most commonly Office 365 A1 - if no alternative license is assigned.

1/ Confirm whether A1 Plus has expired or been removed

In the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin permissions required):

• Go to Billing > Your products
• Look for Office 365 A1 Plus for Faculty and Office 365 A1 Plus for Students

If these licenses no longer appear, this aligns with Microsoft’s published retirement and expiration plan for the A1 Plus program.

2/ Check the licenses currently assigned to users

Please review what licenses your teachers and students currently have:

• Go to Users > Active users
• Select a teacher or student
• Open Licenses and apps

Check whether they are assigned:

• Office 365 A1 (web apps only), or
• Microsoft 365 A3 / A5, or
• Another paid license or add-on

Under Microsoft’s retirement approach, users who are not covered by a paid education license typically default to Office 365 A1, which does not include desktop versions of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

Why desktop app activation errors occur:

If teachers or students are seeing activation errors in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on Windows or macOS, this is expected behavior when moving from A1 Plus to a license such as Office 365 A1, which provides web-only apps. Microsoft documentation clearly states that Office 365 A1 does not include desktop applications.

Here are options to restore access to desktop apps:

• Microsoft 365 A3 (includes desktop apps, security, and management features)
• Microsoft 365 A5 (most comprehensive option)
• Office desktop apps add-on for eligible users who need desktop apps only.

Additionally, Office 365 A3 is specifically noted as a suitable replacement for institutions that require desktop app access.

For more detailed information, you may refer to Microsoft’s official documentation: Retirement Plan for the Office 365 A1 Plus | Microsoft Education.

I hope this explanation helps clarify the situation. Please try the steps above and let me know what you see in your tenant. If you continue to experience issues or need help choosing the appropriate replacement licenses, I’ll be happy to assist further.

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A1 Plus licenses are not listed as a separate SKU in the Microsoft 365 Education documentation. Education licensing is organized around the A1 (baseline), A3, and A5 plans, with additional capabilities provided through specific add-ons (for example, Minecraft Education, A5 Compliance – Students) rather than an “A1 Plus” product.

If licenses that were previously visible as “A1 Plus” now appear to be missing for teachers and students, the most likely explanations are:

1. The tenant is actually using standard A1, A3, or A5 licenses, and the “Plus” naming was internal or legacy from a previous program.
2. The licenses have been changed, removed, or replaced by the admin in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

To verify what is currently assigned to teachers and students:

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Users → Active users and open a sample teacher and student account.
2. Check the Licenses and apps section to see which of these are assigned:
   • Microsoft 365 A1 / Office 365 A1
   • Microsoft 365 A3 / A5
   • Any add-ons such as Minecraft Education or Microsoft 365 A5 Compliance – Students.
3. Then go to Billing → Your products and confirm which education SKUs are available in the tenant (A1, A3, A5, and any add-ons).

If the expected licenses are not present there, the tenant admin or licensing provider needs to review the institution’s current Microsoft 365 Education agreement and, if necessary, reassign or reacquire the appropriate A1/A3/A5 and add-on licenses.

References:

• A1 products and features
• Microsoft 365 Education licenses - Microsoft 365 and Office 365 A1
• Microsoft 365 Education licenses
• License addons for A3 (Standard) and A5 (Advanced) products and features
• Microsoft 365 Student Addons