Fix: Ensure User Has a Valid Office 365 License

3 min read Updated on December 1, 2024 Cloudiway Team

Error Message

During a Microsoft Teams migration (particularly 1:1 chat or private channel migration), you may encounter this error:

FATAL_ERROR : Code: Forbidden Message: Failed to get license information for the user. Ensure user has a valid Office365 license assigned to them.

Cause

This error occurs when the system cannot retrieve license information because one or more accounts involved in the migration do not have the required Microsoft 365 services enabled. Specifically:

  • The migrating user lacks a valid Office 365 license with Teams
  • The administrator account used in the connector lacks a Teams license
  • Teams service is disabled within an otherwise valid license

Important

This error commonly occurs with 1:1 chat migrations because they require Teams API access for both the source and target users, as well as the connector admin accounts.

Solution

To resolve this error, verify that all accounts involved have valid Office 365 licenses with Microsoft Teams enabled:

Step 1: Verify Administrator Account Licenses

Check that the administrator accounts configured in both your source and target connectors have valid licenses:

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
  2. Navigate to Users → Active users
  3. Find the admin account used in your Cloudiway connector
  4. Click on the user and select Licenses and apps
  5. Verify the account has one of these licenses:
    • Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium
    • Microsoft 365 E3/E5
    • Office 365 E1/E3/E5
  6. Ensure Microsoft Teams is enabled (checked) under the license

Check Both Connectors

Remember to verify licenses for admin accounts in both your source and target connectors, not just one.

Step 2: Verify Migrating User's License

The user whose private messages are being migrated must also have valid licenses in both tenants:

  1. In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, find the user being migrated
  2. Check their license assignment
  3. Verify Teams is enabled within the license
  4. Repeat this process in both source and target tenants

Quick PowerShell Check

You can verify a user's Teams license using PowerShell:

Get-MgUserLicenseDetail -UserId "user@domain.com" | Select-Object SkuPartNumber

Step 3: Verify Teams Service is Enabled

Even with a valid license, Teams might be disabled as an individual service:

  1. In the user's license settings, expand Apps
  2. Look for Microsoft Teams in the list
  3. Ensure the checkbox is enabled (checked)
  4. If disabled, check the box and save changes

License Requirements Summary

Account Type Source Tenant Target Tenant Required Service
Connector Admin Required Required Microsoft Teams
Migrating User Required Required Microsoft Teams

Prevention

To avoid this error in future migrations:

Before Starting Migration

  • Audit user licenses - Run a license report before migration to identify unlicensed users
  • Use dedicated migration accounts - Create dedicated admin accounts with full licenses specifically for migration
  • Pre-provision target users - Ensure all target users are created and licensed before migration

Bulk License Verification

For large migrations, use PowerShell to identify users without Teams:

# Get users without Teams license Get-MgUser -All | ForEach-Object { $licenses = Get-MgUserLicenseDetail -UserId $_.Id $hasTeams = $licenses.ServicePlans | Where-Object { $_.ServicePlanName -like "*TEAMS*" -and $_.ProvisioningStatus -eq "Success" } if (-not $hasTeams) { $_.UserPrincipalName } }

Still Having Issues?

If you've verified all licenses are correct and still encounter this error:
  • Wait 15-30 minutes for license changes to propagate
  • Verify the EntraID app has Teams permissions granted
  • Contact Cloudiway support with the user email and error details

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