More issues with Legacy Gmail Suite accounts

[nello]

@Shamino

Did you actually make this purchase?

Yes, I found the charge on my credit card for exactly the same amount, $19.99, on exactly same date, June 12, 2023. (I replaced each digit in the Order Number that I posted with a 9 so it is not my actual Order Number.)

Moreover, the email from Google Play was dated May 17 and my credit card company posted a credit of $19.99 from “GOOGLE *GOOGLE STORAGE 650-253-0000 CA” on May 18.

@Shamino

Did the mail actually come from Google?

Apparently it passed SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentications, as you can see in this screenshot generated by Gmail → Show Original:

@Shamino

If you log in to your play account (go directly, not via any link in the e-mail), do you see the transactions (the order and then the cancellation)?

I logged into https://play.google.com/store/account/orderhistory and here’s a screenshot of the relevant transaction history:

(The date listed on the transaction, namely July 11, 2022, presumably relates to the effective date of the annual Google One subscription, not the date of the transaction itself.)

@Shamino

If you are subscribing to 100 GB storage, what is your storage currently set to?

Google Storage is 117 GB:

---

So I think that the email that I posted above is legitimate.

Moreover, on May 20 I also received an email from Google One that is identical to that received by @doug2, which concludes:

While the subscription was canceled, your storage limit has not changed, and you don’t need to take any action.

The bottom line is that apparently Google has indeed increased the storage for my G Suite Legacy account by 100 GB for no charge in perpetuity. Presumably this storage is shared among all the accounts within my G Suite Legacy domain but I haven’t verified that this is the case.

I think that this is quite generous.

[doug2 (douglerner)]

@nello

The bottom line is that apparently Google has indeed increased the storage for my G Suite Legacy account by 100 GB for no charge in perpetuity. Presumably this storage is shared among all the accounts within my G Suite Legacy domain but I haven’t verified that this is the case.

It might be because you, like me, were already paying for the extra 100 GB. I had the same email about the refund, but it appears that my 100 GB remains.

While that is “nice” of them, they don’t provide a means for adding more space, even if I want to pay. For legacy accounts that is. I’m at 90%+ so need to someday figure out which photos (it’s mostly photos taking up space, from when they allowed unlimited photos) are using space and move them to my regular @gmail.com account, where I can add more space. It’s confusing.

I could move all the photos but then I would lose hundreds of GB of free space from when they allowed unlimited photos. Plus any album links I have shared over the years would be broken.

Sort of a mess.

And no, they specifically say at their site that the space is not shared space.

[nello]

@nello

I sent an email asking for an explanation for the cancellation and will post the reply.

Here's the reply that I received, which I do not find helpful:

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to introduce myself. I’m Precious Camille, and I’ll be here to take care of things while Joselle is away from the office.

Upon reviewing your Google Workspace account, it appears that you currently have the old 100 GB Google Drive subscription rather than a Google One subscription. Unfortunately, the old 100 GB Google Drive plan is no longer available for Google Workspace accounts (formerly known as GSuite accounts), leading to its cancellation and refund.

For Google Workspace accounts, there are specific storage plans tailored to their needs. If you’re the administrator of your Google Workspace account, I kindly suggest reaching out to the Google Workspace support team for further assistance. Alternatively, if you’re not the admin, I recommend contacting your admin who can provide guidance on obtaining a suitable Google Workspace account storage plan.

For admins, here’s a helpful link with instructions on how to reach out to the support team: Contact Google Workspace support.

If you’re not the admin and you’re unsure about who your admin is, don’t worry! You can find details on how to identify your admin using this link: Who is my administrator?

If you ever find yourself with more questions or need a bit more help, feel free to check out the handy articles I’ve listed below in our help center. They’re packed with useful info!

• Compare Flexible Pricing Plan Options

• Buy more Google Workspace storage for your organization

• Business editions

I am hoping for your kind understanding and cooperation. Please reply to this email if you require any additional Google One assistance. I would be delighted to be of support to you.

Google loves customer feedback, you will receive an email survey about your overall support experience with me. Thanks again for contacting Google One Support Team. Have a great day!

Warm regards,
Precious Camille
The Google One team

I recommend replying to and/or subscribing to this trending support post:

https://support.google.com/a/thread/275775133/your-google-one-subscription-has-been-cancelled-g-suite-legacy?hl=en

At this time, this is the sole reply:

Welcome to the Google Workspace Admin Support Community!

Google Workspace seems to have deleted the storage upgrades from Personal G-Suite legacy accounts that’s why your subscription was cancelled. From the email you received, it seems that you are able to keep the storage for free without paying but it’s no longer available for new accounts you create in your G-Suite legacy domain. You can see more from an article made by TechGIndia.

Google offers free additional storage to old Workspace users (External: techgindia.com)

Hope This Helps,
DiegoC.
Google Product Expert

[doug2 (douglerner)]

@nello

I recommend replying to and/or subscribing to this trending support post:

Your Google One subscription has been cancelled - G Suite Legacy - Google Workspace Admin Community

I went ahead and added this extra comment:

I got a similar letter. But there is no way of further upgrading my storage, is there? I have the 100 GB option in my legacy account, but it’s 90% full. Most of that is photos from when Google allowed unlimited photo and video storage.

I doubt if there will be extra useful information. It’s sort of a cumbersome situation. I’m willing to pay for more space (photo sharing via Google Photos is much much better than sharing with Apple Photos). In the meantime, I created an extra Gmail account (standard @gmail.com address) which I’m using for photo sharing, and stopped the automatic backup from my iPhone to Google Photos.

I would just move all my photos over from my legacy account to the new account but (1) it’s a waste, because there are a few hundred GB of free storage from when they had unlimited storage and (2) I have links to albums and photos out there, so if I move all my photos over links would break.