MSDN Subscription disabled after only 4-hours of usage while trialing SQL Azure: "The subscription reached a spending limit and has been disabled to prevent charges. Click here to remove the spending limit. "

Question

This doesn't make a bit of sense to me at all. 

My MSDN subscription was disabled with this message:  "The subscription reached a spending limit and has been disabled to prevent charges. Click here to remove the spending limit. "

How is that possible?  My account information is reporting ZERO usage.   ID:  39967625100002

I only trialed SQL Azure for about 4 hours.

Answer 1

Hi,

I suggest you contact customer support https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=14928&st=1&wfxredirect=1&sd=gn

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If you found this post useful, Please "Mark as Answer" or "Vote as Helpful". Best Regards.

Answer 2

I don't think you did anything wrong it's Azure that is doing something wrong some pepole have suggested it's the default setting that enables Diagnostics that causes 10,000 storage transactions a day that puts you over I disabled Diagnostics and redeployed and I'm still getting 10,000 transactions a day they don't seem to want to address this issue I'm beginning to think it's intentional to get you to release your spending limit

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learning development

Answer 3

I am on the Azure team. You did nothing wrong. This is because of a bug in the Windows Azure 1.6 SDK, which Rickjac alluded to above. We're working on getting this issue fixed in the SDK. At the same time, we are looking at ways to fix this issue for impacted users. Thank you for your patience.

Answer 4

This same thing has just happened to me.  I am not using an SDK yet.  I setup a sql db and added one record to it.  Three days later I received the email that said my free trial account has been suspended to avoid charges.  When I review the "billing" statement all the values show 0 usage.  I don't get it.  I have 85 days left in my trial and I cannot do anything unless I release the usage threshold on my account.  Any ideas what to do?

Answer 5

This same thing has just happened to me.  I am not using an SDK yet.  I setup a sql db and added one record to it.  Three days later I received the email that said my free trial account has been suspended to avoid charges.  When I review the "billing" statement all the values show 0 usage.  I don't get it.  I have 85 days left in my trial and I cannot do anything unless I release the usage threshold on my account.  Any ideas what to do?

Hi,

I suggest you contact customer support https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=14928&st=1&wfxredirect=1&sd=gn

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If you found this post useful, Please "Mark as Answer" or "Vote as Helpful". Best Regards.

Answer 6

All these suggestions to contact customer support they know about this problem and they don't seem to be doing anything about it I don't understand why.

  I added a second data base there is nothing much in them I have 2 now my charges are about a dollar a day I'm the only one hitting the little website I have up I have 190,000 storage transactions this is starting to seem like a money grab Azure doesn't seem like a very good deal at this point after my 90 day trial is up I'm most likely going to cancel my subscription I told them about this 2 months ago nothing has changed I'm going to warn my customers against moving to the cloud I don't think it's a good idea 

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learning development

Answer 7

This happened to me today as well, about 4 hours after creating my account.   I haven't used any SDK, deployed anything, nothing.  I created a database.   That's it.  No data in it, or anything done to it.

Answer 8

same here. Right around the 4 hour mark... Bingo!

I was hoping to demo some software this week and be able to say "it's on the cloud." I'm glad this at least happened before meeting with the client. I guess it's back to standard hosting on GoDaddy. 

Answer 9

lol...I had this same problem...once using the free 90-day trial and once using my msdn azure offer.

the problem, as explained to me today by the azure support folks in india goes sort of like the following:

1. sign up for the "free azure trial offer"

2. start configuring your azure account

3. here's the killer...choose the "sql azure BUSINESS option"...it turns out that only the WEB option is covered for free

4. your account starts accruing pennies of cost

5. someone in the india support organization disables your account, because this is what they were told to do last December...this is a "feature" so that you don't rack up a big bill...what they fail to understand is that we should not be able to sign up for features in the "free trial" programs THAT ARE NOT FREE.

6. the "solution", as it was explained to me today by the manager of the folks that I had been ranting at, is to log into your account and agree to pay the pennies (16 cents, in my case) by enabling your credit card (that is only supposed to be used at the end of the "free trial" when you decide to continue to use azure for your development efforts).

7. WHAT A JOKE microsoft!  your support folks don't even have a tool that will let them kill your azure account (the one that is tied to the liveid with which you log into your msdn account), so that you can re-create your free trial azure account and, hopefully, not make the same stupid mistake (choosing the non-free business sql azure option).  there are probably other non-free azure services that you can choose, but that's the issue that I had...yes, twice...guess I'm a moron...hmmmpf...or maybe the azure free trial process has a bug or two that need to be ironed out?

8. oh well, I was looking for someone with the same or a similar problem and have now had a chance to bitch and moan at microsoft...here's hoping the azure folks figure out how to provide good customer service (SOON) to software devs who are considering switching to azure...:)

Answer 10

Your right there seems to be a number of this that  can make you open up you credit card I choose the web addition SQL my problem was thousands of transactions I also think he author of this thread should un-mark contact customer support as the answer it clearly is not they won't admit they have a number of this wrong I even had a moderator go in and mark my thread as answered so they could make it go away I think Microsoft should stop wasting money on Azure and cut there loses I know after the experience with this so called free trial I don't think I'm continuing with Azureso far in my experiance SUCKS!!! and I'm a hugh Microsoft fan  

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsazurepurchasing/thread/49bf377e-bbc5-42ca-94b0-00d0dc08066f

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learning development

Answer 11

It is 01 March 2012 and you still have done nothing about it..

My account was disabled yesterday after only 1 day usage.. I have a 10 MB database in MS Access that I want to go to the cloud but that was too much for azure and I was kicked out.

Thanks Microsoft for nothing!

Answer 12

I signed up for an MSDN Ultimate Azure package, worked on my app locally in MVC, set up the Entity Framework, set up my Azure Storage, etc. and the next day was locked out!  I called and it turns out there's nothing they can do on the weekend.  Totally outrageous!  I have a business client ready to go and now have to wonder whether this is a business solution or just a really bad joke.

Answer 13

This bug was fixed in Feb. 2012. It should not happen anymore.

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--- Bilal Aslam Windows Azure (Billing and Signup)