Black Friday is nearly here, and you might be looking to take advantage of the sales season and snap up a copy of Microsoft 365 Family at a reduced rate. Amazon.co.uk is offering a 12 month subscription for £77, a 27% saving off the usual £105, for six people with up to 6TB of cloud storage and AI Office apps.
If you want antivirus too, you can pick up a Microsoft 365 Family sub with Norton 360 Deluxe for five devices for £90, a solid 57% off the usual £210 RRP.
At first glance both appear to offer great savings. There is a big catch to be aware of however, and that's down to how Amazon handles the subscriptions.
Bargain buyer beware
Instead of giving customers a code to add to an existing Microsoft account, the license is tied directly to the buyer’s Amazon account.
That change means users can’t stack multiple years of service. People who normally add prepaid codes and build up several years in advance can’t do that here, as Amazon’s system doesn’t support it.
The renewal is also controlled solely by Amazon. After the first year, the full renewal price is charged through the Amazon account. Anyone looking to switch to a version bought from another retailer can’t simply add a new code and carry on.
Switching away is treated as starting a new subscription altogether and that process involves reinstalling the Office apps.
Mac users in particular report that the apps require a fresh activation tied to the new sub. Families sharing storage or apps also need to rebuild their group, as the Amazon managed plan doesn’t extend an existing Microsoft 365 family setup.
These details aren’t spelled out clearly in the listings, which is why some are urging potential purchasers to take a closer look before buying. The upfront saving might seem appealing on the surface, but the long term behavior of the subscription is very different from the familiar code based model.
Luckily there are other UK retailers, like Argos, offering discounted deals on Microsoft 365 Family without this flaw.
In America, Amazon.com is selling a 12 month subscription at full price - $129.99 per year - but Newegg, has a version with ESET NOD32 Antivirus included for just $58, proving that when it comes to Black Friday bargains it pays to shop around.
