Microsoft 365 trial offer blocks access to Windows 10 desktops

Windows 10 users are not able to access their desktops because of a full-screen trial offer page of the Microsoft 365 productivity suite (formerly known as Office 365).

Apparently, users are getting full-screen notifications titled Access granted: We’re giving you a free trial of Microsoft 365 Family. This leaves users with no choice but to enter their payment option and opt for the trial in order to use the computer.

These are being displayed during the Windows Out of Box Experience (OOBE) before  you can reach the desktop

Its Not Over

Users get two option on the offer page, “Try for free”, or “No, Thanks”. But when the user clicks “No, Thanks”, they are sent to the payment confirmation page. There the user has the lone option to “Try now, buy later”.

Generally such offers appear on clean Windows installs and feature updates with a “Skip for Now” option on the left side of the screen. That is not the case this time around as that is replaced with a “Privacy and Cookies” link.

“Windows 10 preventing me from booting into desktop without first non-consensually being forced to accept their free trial and $100 monthly thereafter (obviously I cancelled after but WTF Microsoft),”, a Reddit user said while uploading a video on the r/Windows10 sub.

Windows 10 preventing me from booting into desktop without first non-consensually being forced to accept their free trial and $100 monthly thereafter (obviously I cancelled after but WTF Microsoft)
byu/whatsurissuebro inWindows10

 

Apparently Microsoft appears to be testing different layout designs for promoting their promos as few Reddit users have reported seeing 50% offers.

Those pages also have “Next” and “No, thanks” buttons but clicking on the latter takes you to a payment confirmation page.

Fortunately users can opt to cancel their credit card information after payment confirmation to avoid getting charged after the trial period.