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savinduk28's avatar
savinduk28
Occasional Reader
Nov 06, 2025

Microsoft Teams – “You need a paid subscription to use Microsoft Teams”

Hi everyone,

I’m currently unable to sign in to Microsoft Teams using my work account.
When I launch the Teams desktop app, I receive the following message:

"You need a paid subscription to use Microsoft Teams. To continue using Teams, you’ll need a license. You’re currently signed in as [my account]. Please click Request License to ask your admin for access or sign in with a different account."

However, according to our admin, a Microsoft Teams Premium license (or equivalent Microsoft 365 license) has already been assigned to my account. I can also see Teams listed under My Apps in the Microsoft 365 portal.

I have tried the following steps:

Signed out and signed back in

Tried Teams web app (teams.microsoft.com) in an InPrivate or Incognito browser

Cleared Teams cache from %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams

Reinstalled the Teams desktop client

Unfortunately, the same message still appears.

Could someone please advise:

Is this a known sync or license propagation issue?

Should the admin reassign the license or refresh it from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center?

Are there any other steps to force Teams license validation?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Savindu

 

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1 Reply

  • MrCharlesJenkins's avatar
    MrCharlesJenkins
    MCT
    Nov 07, 2025

    This message usually means that Teams hasn’t properly recognized your assigned license, even though it’s active in Microsoft 365. It can happen when the Teams app is caching old authentication data or when the license assignment hasn’t fully synced across Microsoft’s backend systems. The best next step is for your admin to remove the Teams license, wait a few hours, and then reassign it from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, this often forces a proper refresh. You can also try signing out of all Microsoft accounts on your device, then signing back in to the Teams desktop app using only your work account. If the problem continues, open Teams web (teams.microsoft.com) and check if it works there, if it does, the issue is local to the desktop app and clearing or deleting the Teams cache again after a full sign-out usually resolves it. If neither works, your admin can run a PowerShell sync command (Set-MsolUserLicense) to make sure your license is active and propagated. It’s not uncommon after recent Teams updates, so hopefully, a quick license refresh will fix it.

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