DavR Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 Has anyone else with Software Assurance received an email saying that they need to do something to move their Home Use Program into the Microsoft Store for Business? Apparently MSfB is the new way to manage this. There's a list of steps I'm supposed to take, but for this I need to "Sign into MSfB using your work/AAD account". We don't have a "work/AAD" accounts, I assume this is something to do with Azure AD. I'm advised to create one in VLSC, but despite being the superadmin of that, I've got no options to do so! Slowly going bonkers trying to work out how to set this up.... We've done nothing with Microsoft Store or Azure AD thus far, it's a level of complication we could just do without IMO.
DavR Posted January 18, 2019 Author Posted January 18, 2019 Well, I've just spent a Kafkaesque hour on the phone to VLSC support. They have logged my call, hung up on me, and transferred me to a department who took the call but didn't say anything, gave me two different phone numbers that led me back to the same department, the department who told me to call the alternative number..... all about creating a logon for a page that doesn't have an option to create a logon. I think I'm going slightly mad. Home Use Program as is ceases in less than two weeks, and no-one at Microsoft support seems to know anything about it....
Linfit Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 I got this e-mail as well and was just as perplexed. Went onto VLSC and couldn't see anything relevant to this at all. Tried in a few places and eventually followed links through Software Assurance benefits and when I clicked on our current agreement number got to a page that was Copyright 2004 and had links on it for Encarta Subscriptions and other weirdness !
DavR Posted January 18, 2019 Author Posted January 18, 2019 Well I'm glad to hear someone else has had the exact same baffling experience as I had. The email is telling you to follow instructions that just aren't there. As best I can work out, we need to create a new type of Microsoft account for the MSfB, but for the life of me I can't see how or where! If anyone else is in the same boat, you can call VLSC support on 0800 917 9016 (they're option 4), but I'd give it a few days as they don't seem to be up to speed with the changes at all.
DJ-1701 Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 Got forwarded the same message from the Primary here, but never setup HUP there though. Seems the Secondary has as well which was setup, but haven't used to my knowledge. We just let staff install Office from the Office 365 entitlement though so, not an issue for us.
chazzy2501 Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 Yeap, since O365, I've never setup HUP again.
DavR Posted January 18, 2019 Author Posted January 18, 2019 Yeap, since O365, I've never setup HUP again. There's the irony, if we had O365 running, we'd probably have the necessary tenant set up, and have the necessary Azure AD accounts!
Linfit Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 There's the irony, if we had O365 running, we'd probably have the necessary tenant set up, and have the necessary Azure AD accounts! Nope, we have an O365 tenancy and I am no clearer than you are.
Arthur Posted January 18, 2019 Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) Home Use Program as is ceases in less than two weeks, and no-one at Microsoft support seems to know anything about it.... Was this the e-mail you received? Microsoft sent this to me on 27 October 2018. Subject: Microsoft Home Use Program Change Notification – New Employee Discounts Available 30 November 2018 From: EC VL Unified Notification [[email protected]] Dear IT Benefits Administrators, As a Software Assurance customer of Microsoft, your company continues to be eligible for the Microsoft Home Use Program. The Home Use Program offers your staff employees discounts on various Microsoft products and services. We have made changes to the current program: NEW OFFER AVAILABLE 30 November 2018! 30% discount on Office 365 Home or Personal annual subscription for home use With an Office 365 annual subscription your employees will always be up-to-date with premium versions of Office apps across all their devices (Office 365 Home – Up to 6 Users, Office 365 Personal – 1 User), monthly exclusive feature updates, and 1TB of cloud storage per user. Office 365 helps them create their best documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with built-in intelligence and up-to-date features. Securely sync and share; all within the premium apps they know and trust. Availability – 30 November 2018 How do I access this offer and inform employees of the program? Visit the *Microsoft Store for Business Home Use Program HERE >> click 'Sign-in' If you have previously signed into MSFB you can go directly to this page HERE If you have not signed into MSFB before, you will need to follow a special onetime process to sign up. Login to Volume Licensing Center (VLSC) using your Work / AAD Account. If you do not have a work AAD account, you can create one at https://signup.microsoft.com. You can also do this by clicking "Sign in with your work account" after clicking the "Sign in" button at the VLSC. Once you have set up your work AAD account and have signed in to VLSC using the AAD work account, you can then proceed to MSFB sign in. This process will ensure that your VLSC assets are visible in the Microsoft Store for Business. [*]Sign into the company portal >> Enter your company email address >> If you have not signed in before you will be prompted to enter your credentials. [*]Access Admin Home Use Program benefit page >> Click on 'Manage' >> Click on 'Products & Services' [*]On the 'Product & Services' page >> Click on the 'Benefits' tab >> Click on 'Home Use Program' [*]Manage program and Invite Employees >> Click on 'Invite' button >> Enter Company DL or employee email >> Click 'Invite' [*]Optional – Share the Microsoft Home Use Program with your employees on your SharePoint, HR Benefits, yammer sites, newsletter by leveraging Customized Assets or directly pointing your employees to www.microsoft.com/homeuseprogram [*]Once you've activated the new benefit, please direct your employees to www.microsoft.com/homeuseprogram to take advantage of this new offer. What is happening to the prior Home Use Program that offered Software Assurance customers Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 for USD $9.95*? As part of Microsoft's cloud-first strategy, we will be transitioning our Home Use Program to offer the most up-to-date Office experience with Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal at a 30% discount starting November 30, 2018. However, for a limited time we will continue to offer the opportunity for your eligible employees to purchase the following products at www.microsofthup.com: Now until 31/12/2018 – Office Professional Plus 2016, Office Home and Business 2016 for Mac, Project Professional 2016, and Visio Professional 2016 for USD $9.95* each. From 01/11/2018 to 30/06/2019 – Office Professional Plus 2019, Office Home and Business 2019, Visio Professional 2019, and Project Professional 2019 for USD $14.99* each. Starting 01/07/2019 – Office Professional Plus 2019 and Office Home and Business 2019 will no longer be available. Professional 2019 and Visio Professional 2019 will continue to be offered to eligible customers. For more details please visit the Admin FAQ here * For products price offered in your region please visit www.microsofthup.com What is happening to the prior Home Use Program that offered SA Customers Visio Professional 2016 and/or Project Professional 2016 for USD $9.95? If your organization is eligible to provide discounts on Visio and/or Project through the Home Use Program, you can continue to manage those products in the Volume Licensing Service Center today. In the near future, you will be able to manage those products in the Microsoft Store for Business. Key Resources: Microsoft Store for Business – Admin Sign Up (must successfully have signed into Microsoft Store for Business) Manage your company's Home Use Program activity and inform employees Learn more and Admin FAQ Customizable marketing and onboarding employee templates [*]Microsoft Home Use Program – Employee Sign Up Employee FAQ Thank you, Microsoft Volume Licensing Services Edited January 18, 2019 by Arthur
fiza Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 Just got the same email over the weekend. Occasionally staff want to buy Office Pro for home use, we dont have 0365 running. When I log into the new site it tells me we are not eligible for HUP even though I can see it as active in the VLSC site. Not sure where to go from there!!
DavR Posted January 21, 2019 Author Posted January 21, 2019 Was this the e-mail you received? Microsoft sent this to me on 27 October 2018. No, although I got that one back in November too. I got the below on Friday. One lead maybe is that at least the one that you point to Arthur has the signup link to get a business AAD account, so I can have a bash at that at least. What I can't quite figure out so far is how I'm supposed to link this business AAD account to our VLSC.... [TABLE=width: 90%, align: center] [TR] [TD]Dear IT Benefits Administrators,[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]As a Software Assurance customer of Microsoft, your company continues to be eligible for the Microsoft Home Use Program (HUP). HUP offers your staff employees discounts on Microsoft products and services. Companies will no longer be able to manage their HUP benefit through the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) beginning January 31st, 2019, and must complete the steps below in the Microsoft Store for Business (MSfB) to make the HUP benefit available to their employees worldwide in the new HUP store.[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Please note: The new HUP store is not yet available in the following countries: United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, China, Japan, Russia, Hong Kong, Macao. For these markets, please continue to manage your HUP benefit on VLSC, and point your employees in those countries to microsofthup.com to view available discounts on Office software.[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Continued Access to your Microsoft Home Use Program Offers You must be listed as the Global Admin for your tenant to complete set up in MSfB as follows: Sign into MSfB using your work/AAD account If you have not created a work/AAD account yet, please follow these steps: Sign into VLSC and follow the instructions to create a work/AAD account Then sign into MSfB to ensure that your VLSC assets become visible in MSfB [*]In MSfB, click on the ‘Product & Services’ tile >> Click on the ‘Benefits’ tab >> Click on ‘Microsoft Home Use Program’ to see your HUP offers on Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal, Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019 and Project Professional 2019 [*]Action Required: To activate Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019, and Project Professional 2019 [*]To make an employee eligible for these perpetual offers, the admin must assign a license to the employee in MSfB. Under ‘Invite Employees’, select the relevant perpetual product and follow the steps to assign a license to an employee. To make users eligible for assignment, they need to have a work identity in the organization’s AAD tenant [*]Please direct eligible employees to microsoft.com/homeuseprogram to access the offer [*]Employees will be able to validate their eligibility for Office 365 discounts if their corporate email address has a domain that is approved under the organization’s AAD tenant [*]There is no additional action needed beyond adding the domain to the AAD tenant [*]Optional: To notify employees of the benefit, click on ‘Invite’ button >> Enter Company DL or employee email >> Click ‘Invite’ [*]To manage Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal: [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Frequently Asked Questions What are the current available Microsoft Home Use Program offers? 30% discount on Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal annual subscription for home use Office Professional Plus 2019 for $14.99 USD or local equivalent for home use Visio Professional 2019 for $14.99 USD or local equivalent for home use Project Professional 2019 for $14.99 USD or local equivalent for home use What has changed since the last program change notification? The key change since the last update is that you can manage all of your Microsoft Home Use Program offers on Microsoft Store for Business, and your employees can access these offers on www.microsoft.com/homeuseprogram. The only other change is that as previously announced Office Professional Plus 2016 is no longer available as a Microsoft Home Use Program offer. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Key Resources: Admin FAQ Employee FAQ VLSC Support [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Thank you, Microsoft Volume Licensing Services [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE=width: 90%, align: center] [TR] [TD]Dear IT Benefits Administrators,[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]As a Software Assurance customer of Microsoft, your company continues to be eligible for the Microsoft Home Use Program (HUP). HUP offers your staff employees discounts on Microsoft products and services. Companies will no longer be able to manage their HUP benefit through the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) beginning January 31st, 2019, and must complete the steps below in the Microsoft Store for Business (MSfB) to make the HUP benefit available to their employees worldwide in the new HUP store.[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Please note: The new HUP store is not yet available in the following countries: United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, China, Japan, Russia, Hong Kong, Macao. For these markets, please continue to manage your HUP benefit on VLSC, and point your employees in those countries to microsofthup.com to view available discounts on Office software.[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Continued Access to your Microsoft Home Use Program Offers You must be listed as the Global Admin for your tenant to complete set up in MSfB as follows: Sign into MSfB using your work/AAD account If you have not created a work/AAD account yet, please follow these steps: [*]In MSfB, click on the ‘Product & Services’ tile >> Click on the ‘Benefits’ tab >> Click on ‘Microsoft Home Use Program’ to see your HUP offers on Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal, Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019 and Project Professional 2019 [*]Action Required: To activate Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019, and Project Professional 2019 [*]To make an employee eligible for these perpetual offers, the admin must assign a license to the employee in MSfB. Under ‘Invite Employees’, select the relevant perpetual product and follow the steps to assign a license to an employee. To make users eligible for assignment, they need to have a work identity in the organization’s AAD tenant [*]Please direct eligible employees to microsoft.com/homeuseprogram to access the offer [*]Employees will be able to validate their eligibility for Office 365 discounts if their corporate email address has a domain that is approved under the organization’s AAD tenant [*]There is no additional action needed beyond adding the domain to the AAD tenant [*]Optional: To notify employees of the benefit, click on ‘Invite’ button >> Enter Company DL or employee email >> Click ‘Invite’ [*]To manage Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal: [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Frequently Asked Questions What are the current available Microsoft Home Use Program offers? 30% discount on Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal annual subscription for home use Office Professional Plus 2019 for $14.99 USD or local equivalent for home use Visio Professional 2019 for $14.99 USD or local equivalent for home use Project Professional 2019 for $14.99 USD or local equivalent for home use What has changed since the last program change notification? The key change since the last update is that you can manage all of your Microsoft Home Use Program offers on Microsoft Store for Business, and your employees can access these offers on www.microsoft.com/homeuseprogram. The only other change is that as previously announced Office Professional Plus 2016 is no longer available as a Microsoft Home Use Program offer. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Key Resources: Admin FAQ Employee FAQ VLSC Support [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Thank you, Microsoft Volume Licensing Services [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Sign into VLSC and follow the instructions to create a work/AAD account Then sign into MSfB to ensure that your VLSC assets become visible in MSfB
kennysarmy Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 Sorry, your organisation is not eligible for this benefit. (CV: rMMsS+/2VkG2Ig41.8.7) ???
DavR Posted January 21, 2019 Author Posted January 21, 2019 Sorry, your organisation is not eligible for this benefit. (CV: rMMsS+/2VkG2Ig41.8.7) ??? Hah, yeah, that's about as far as I got too. Progress I have made: Via https://signup.microsoft.com I finally have a Microsoft work / AAD account. Through doing this I think I've now setup an Azure tenant for the school? Logging into the VLSC seems to have associated our VLSC with my new AAD account. I can no longer login to VLSC with my original account, only my AAD. I can log in to the Store, but none of my licensing agreements have come through. Home Use Program gives the organisation not eligible error same as @kennysarmy Wait 24hrs perhaps? Also reading the latest email more closely, it looks like anyone who want to use the HUP will need an account in the new Azure AAD I've just created, which sounds a faff quite frankly.
DavR Posted January 21, 2019 Author Posted January 21, 2019 These latest changes all seem to be geared around shifting HUP to Microsoft Store, and pushing people onto Azure AD accounts. Which is all par for the course I suppose, but it would have been a lot easier if it had come with a guide for setting up the Azure AD tenant. Not everyone has this setup, and it's not that trivial a thing to do!
maark Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 The latest Franz Kafka novel "Microsoft Licensing" 1
Arthur Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 it looks like anyone who want to use the HUP will need an account in the new Azure AAD I've just created, which sounds a faff quite frankly. By making HUP more complicated to setup isn't this going to have the unintended consequence of forcing more users to Google Docs? 1
DavR Posted January 21, 2019 Author Posted January 21, 2019 By making HUP more complicated to setup isn't this going to have the unintended consequence of forcing more users to Google Docs? Haha.... yes and no, as sadly muggins here is swallowing the complications to make it work. In the longer term though, yes, as soon as they stop allowing us to buy the offline edition of Office Pro (this summer was it?), I will be advising people to just use our school instance of Google Docs rather than subscribe to O365. Which makes a good point actually, why am I going through all this nonsense to use HUP for another six months....!
Linfit Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 By making HUP more complicated to setup isn't this going to have the unintended consequence of forcing more users to Google Docs? It is for us. We haven't had many requests for home use for Office for a long while now to be honest. We have an O365 tenancy and Google and so people tend to use that. My inclination is to do nothing and simply allow the facility to lapse - I cant think of any work related use where they couldn't get by with 365 these days.
DavR Posted January 21, 2019 Author Posted January 21, 2019 Sorry, your organisation is not eligible for this benefit. (CV: rMMsS+/2VkG2Ig41.8.7) ??? @kennysarmy, you might want to check back now. Mine just came through, took a few hours to sync. Ours seems to be up and running now. As a summary for those who were as baffled as me by the process: Home Use Program is now administered through Microsoft Store for Business (MSfB). You need to sync your VLSC with MSfB. To do this you will need a Microsoft work AAD login. If you don't have one, create at https://signup.microsoft.com. This will also create an Azure AD tenant for your school. Sign in to VLSC with your AAD login, this will associate the login with your VLSC. This is now your VLSC login. Log in to MSfB at https://businessstore.microsoft.com/manage/inventory/benefits/home-use-program In the first instance you may get an error saying you are not eligible, wait a few hours for VLSC to sync with MSfB. Eventually, you should see your HUP at https://businessstore.microsoft.com/manage/inventory/benefits/home-use-program You can now invite users to the HUP, but they will need an account in your AAD tenant to use it. You can also add your business domain as a Custom Domain Name, allowing users to authenticate for the program with their school email (hopefully - haven't quite figured that bit yet).
BJC Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 Mine eventually just loaded after many errors. I did read this in the faq so staff still have a few months if they prefer the older one. What if my organisation that has Software Assurance Benefits with Microsoft continues to be eligible for Office Professional Plus 2016, Visio Professional 2016 or Project Professional 2016? Previously the Home Use Program was a Software Assurance benefit available to Microsoft volume licensing customers with active Software Assurance coverage on their qualifying Office applications. The offer included Office Professional Plus 2016, Office Home and Business 2016 for Mac, Visio Professional 2016 and Project Professional 2016 for USD $9.95 As part of Microsoft’s cloud-first strategy we will be transitioning our Home Use Program offering to *Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal at a 30% discount. Companies entitled to the Home Use Program through their Software Assurance benefits prior to 1/7/2019 will be able to continue to *offer the below discounts to their eligible employees: Beginning 11/30/18 – Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal annual subscription for home use at a 30% discount (US availability January 2019, China/Japan availability 1/4/2019). Now until 31/12//2018 – Office Professional Plus 2016, Office Home and Business 2016 for Mac, Project Professional 2016, and Visio Professional 2016 for $9.95* each. (China/Japan/India availability until 21/1/2019) From 1/11/2018 to 30/6/2019 – Office Professional Plus 2019, Office Home and Business 2019, Project Professional 2019 and Visio Professional 2019 for $14.99* each. (China/Japan/India availability from 22/1/2019 to 30/6/2019) NOTIFICATION – Starting 1/7//2019 - Office Professional Plus 2019 and Office Home and Business 2019 will no longer be available. Project Professional 2019 and Visio Professional 2019 will continue to be offered to eligible customers. 1
kennysarmy Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 @kennysarmy, you might want to check back now. Mine just came through, took a few hours to sync. Ours seems to be up and running now. As a summary for those who were as baffled as me by the process: Home Use Program is now administered through Microsoft Store for Business (MSfB). You need to sync your VLSC with MSfB. To do this you will need a Microsoft work AAD login. If you don't have one, create at https://signup.microsoft.com. This will also create an Azure AD tenant for your school. Sign in to VLSC with your AAD login, this will associate the login with your VLSC. This is now your VLSC login. Log in to MSfB at https://businessstore.microsoft.com/manage/inventory/benefits/home-use-program In the first instance you may get an error saying you are not eligible, wait a few hours for VLSC to sync with MSfB. Eventually, you should see your HUP at https://businessstore.microsoft.com/manage/inventory/benefits/home-use-program You can now invite users to the HUP, but they will need an account in your AAD tenant to use it. You can also add your business domain as a Custom Domain Name, allowing users to authenticate for the program with their school email (hopefully - haven't quite figured that bit yet). I've got a bit further! Continued Access to your Microsoft Home Use Program Offers You must be listed as the Global Admin for your tenant to complete set up in MSfB as follows: Sign into MSfB using your work/AAD account If you have not created a work/AAD account yet, please follow these steps: Sign into VLSC and follow the instructions to create a work/AAD account Then sign into MSfB to ensure that your VLSC assets become visible in MSfB In MSfB, click on the ‘Product & Services’ tile >> Click on the ‘Benefits’ tab >> Click on ‘Microsoft Home Use Program’ to see your HUP offers on Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal, Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019 and Project Professional 2019 Action Required: To activate Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019, and Project Professional 2019 To make an employee eligible for these perpetual offers, the admin must assign a license to the employee in MSfB. Under ‘Invite Employees’, select the relevant perpetual product and follow the steps to assign a license to an employee. To make users eligible for assignment, they need to have a work identity in the organization’s AAD tenant Please direct eligible employees to microsoft.com/homeuseprogram to access the offer To manage Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal: Employees will be able to validate their eligibility for Office 365 discounts if their corporate email address has a domain that is approved under the organization’s AAD tenant There is no additional action needed beyond adding the domain to the AAD tenant Optional: To notify employees of the benefit, click on ‘Invite’ button >> Enter Company DL or employee email >> Click ‘Invite’ I'm at : In MSfB, click on the ‘Product & Services’ tile >> Click on the ‘Benefits’ tab >> Click on ‘Microsoft Home Use Program’ to see your HUP offers on Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal, Office Professional Plus 2019, Visio Professional 2019 and Project Professional 2019 I don't see a Microsoft Home Use Program!!!
fiza Posted January 21, 2019 Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) I don't see a Microsoft Home Use Program!!! Same!! I see; Minecraft: Education Edition Device Promotion Shape the future If you go into 'Support' and try to raise a support ticket you get an "Access Denied" error!!!! Edited January 21, 2019 by fiza
ITGURU Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 I got the email for both schools managed to sign into the new site no problem and invite myself to get am email so all.working fine here. I believe that to use the VLSC site your account has to be on 365 as changed tenancy a while ago and got locked out and MS had to 're add me so if you login to VLSC I'd have thought you have a work 365 account.
DavR Posted January 23, 2019 Author Posted January 23, 2019 I got the email for both schools managed to sign into the new site no problem and invite myself to get am email so all.working fine here. I believe that to use the VLSC site your account has to be on 365 as changed tenancy a while ago and got locked out and MS had to 're add me so if you login to VLSC I'd have thought you have a work 365 account. I don't think it needs to be O365 as such, but yes, you do need an Azure AD tenant to link your VLSC to, and access is through Azure AD logins. Which is fine and all (I guess) but it would be nice if they'd openly explained what was required, rather than pushed us to do it through the back door. As I've said above, setting up an Azure AD tenancy isn't trivial, and may have future ramifications.
fiza Posted January 29, 2019 Posted January 29, 2019 They have made it too complicated. I am just going to discontinue the offer of HUP to staff here.
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