Microsoft: We’re deprecating Office A1 Plus EDU licenses

[chazzy2501]

I guess this means Proplus A1 Students and Faculty. I don't know how I missed this announcement in 2023 but here it is in full force in September 2025.  As I correctly deployed LTSC Office 2024 at school, I'll see no issues.  So I guess only teachers and pupils using the full office suite on personal devices will be affected.  Anyone got a PS script to swap the licences? 

 

cheers

 

 

 

 

[Rob_D]

TBH I'd use the 365 admin UI. You can multi-select users and use the manage licenses option at the top, there's even a "replace" option for you. Although I'd just remove the old one and switch to group based licensing to make it easier to manage going forward (if you ever need to do this again). 

 

Edited August 27, 2025 by Rob_D

[DalekSec]

Also, do you assign licenses by group (if not you should and not do Direct licensing)? If so just change the License for said group.

[mikes]

I only have A1 Plus licenses not any other, not A1 standard - I missed this announcement as well had no idea! Our desktop office versions will stop working over the next few months, and as the web versions aren't fit for purpose our only option would be pay up or move to Google 

[DavR]

If you pay for your Office licensing annually, e.g. via an OVS agreement, you can ask your reseller for "Microsoft 365 Apps" licenses. If you combine these with Office A1 standard licensing, you'll get the equivalent of the old A1 Plus entitlement - i.e., web apps and install rights.

 

If you don't see A1 licenses at all in your tenant, hunt around, you should be able to "buy" these for free. Or at least, I did once to up my license count, and I'm assuming that route is still there somewhere....

 

I was surprised Microsoft have only now actioned this, they were threatening it a few years back, with a deadline of August 2024. As of today, my A1 Plus licenses are still there.

[chazzy2501]

Welp, reading closer the accounts will automatically be downgraded to A1 Standard, so no action needed on my end. Just got to let staff know.

[browolf]

I only found out last week from a 365 update message.  I read somewhere they were being discontinued on the 2nd September but they're still there in our tenant at the moment. I've had to rearrange a  bunch of people onto a1 as we only have 150 a3 licenses for 220 staff....

[mikes]

yes they should automatically change to A1 standard  so the webapps will work but not the desktop versions. We still have a lot of staff teaching the desktop versions of excel, word etc. Apparently they will be doing this staggered over the next couple of months.  But MS have already apparently said they'd be doing this before (I think in jan 2025) but they just never did it

[mikes]

update - luckily for us in Wales  if you use the Hwb KMS key it should activate Office 2024, I'll have to go installing that on everyone's machines, replacing 365. 

 

It looks like I can "buy" A1  licenses through the MS portal,  we have none at the moment (only plus) so I'll try "buying" a few of the A1 standard, my worry is coming in one day and MS have removed the Plus licenses but as we had no Standard, suddenly everyone is "unlicensed".  How this is really easier than on-prem eludes me at the moment ... 

I notice that the notification has disappeared too - displaying it only for 7 days ?

 

 

[browolf]

ours are still there

[mikes]

same - all I have are the A1 Plus licenses - I can see A1 licenses available to purchase in the console (well purchase at a cost of £0) - just got to wait and see I guess

[LukeMoss]

Have you heard anything else? We now have the message to say they can't be reactivated after 8th November, so currently trying to find a workaround until we can purchase A3 licences. 

[browolf]

There was some weirdness over half term where some people's A1 plus licenses were de-assigned but it let me put them back. We have 75% on A3 licenses. I made sure everyone else has the A1 and the A1 Plus license assigned.  I haven't been reading the Microsoft notices for a while so I haven't  seen any updates. What  does it mean by reactived

 

 

[mikes]

No messages here, all we have are A1 Plus licenses, don't have any A1 - Haven't got any yet due to a pain with finance.  All our A1 Plus licenses are still there and working. I use the console pretty twice / 3 times a week and haven't seen anything.

 

I found an MS Support web post where a user says his Office users have all received warnings when they opened their office suite, that the license will expire on 8th Nov - our users have had no such warning. (This guy references a principal so must be US)

 

However in Wales we do have a KMS that activates Office/Windows - I am in the process of installing Office 2024 instead of O365 but unfortunately the two suites seem to be incestuously related, sometimes when I remove o365 and install 24, it still shows up as o365.  In the meantime I'll need to sort out finance BS out to get the A1 free licenses then I can swap them over.

 

But yes nothing no message in Office or in the o365 admin section. If I was MS I'd have just set it so that no new A1 Plus licenses can be added, keep the current allocations, and over a few years then phase it out.   But with us will our A1 Plus just disappear ?  and our users show as Unlicensed ???   or will they auto replace with A1 ?

 

[mikes]

Ours are still working today - no messages no missing licenses - am going to get everyone switched over to A1 Standard this week anyway as if certain people are getting it now it'll only be a matter of time for me.  They did say they will be doing this deprecation in batches

[supportman]

Our just disappeared this week. We are on OVS but used the plus licenses for student local installs.

 

Looking at options but already quoted £2,000 to upgrade to A3 for a small number of staff so we get the 40 student licenses...

[MrEprise]

Microsoft 365 Apps for Faculty/Students would give you the necessary licences for local installs and they're supposed to be a free addon. In fact I'm waiting for my Year 3 renewal to be processed so that I get them as a replacement to the A1 Plus licences we have/had.

Edited December 8, 2025 by MrEprise

[mikes]

How do you get the 365 Apps for Fac/Stu  ?  I've read they are a paid license but cheaper than A3?   All of our users on A1 Plus  were changed over  to  A1   over the half term, I presume by MS - I still have the A1 Plus available as an option but I don't want to go re-allocating them all to Plus  since it is being deprecated after all.   Hasn't caused as much chaos as I thought it would

[MrEprise]

When I contacted our supplier, they suggested that as we're already paying for OVS-ES (which is what gives us the A1 licences & technically A1 Plus for as long as it'll last) that we could get the 365 Apps licences for no extra cost.

The only drawback to it is that instead of the million licences of A1 Plus, you'll only get your FTE count + however many student licences you need. I did manage to get them to add some extras to cover us for supply teachers and the like.