Active subscription: Copilot free or Student?

[cordovank]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Verification Help & Guidance

Hi everyone,

My application for the Student Developer Pack was accepted (coupon applied), but I still see "Active subscription: Copilot Free" under GitHub Settings > Licensing.

Is this expected behavior? If not, how do I check if I am actually in the GitHub Copilot Student plan in VSCode?

If it's due to new activations being paused? When did the pause start? My education pack is active since May 21.

[RohithPVenugopal]

Hi Nellie,
This behavior is directly tied to a major policy change from GitHub regarding how student plans are managed.
Here is exactly what is happening with your account, when the pause started, and how to verify your actual access in VS Code.

1. Why do you see "Copilot Free"?
   GitHub recently redesigned its plan structure. Previously, students were given a full premium license under the hood. Now, "Copilot Free" is the base tier for all individual users, which includes a heavily restricted trial (e.g., a cap of 2,000 code completions per month).
   When your Student Developer Pack is active, your student status acts as a coupon/override layered on top of that base Free tier.

• It changes your billing structure (often showing a "$0.00" or equivalent discount coupon on your billing page).
• However, the UI under Licensing will stubbornly continue to read "Copilot Free" as your technical account tier, rather than displaying "Copilot Student."

2. When did the activation pause start?GitHub officially paused all new sign-ups and activations for Copilot Student, Pro, and Pro+ plans on April 20, 2026. Because your Student Pack was approved on May 21, you fall directly into the group affected by this freeze. Even though your overall Education Pack is fully active, the specific pipeline that unlocks unlimited/premium Copilot access to newly approved student accounts is temporarily locked down while GitHub updates its infrastructure.Right now, there is no official timeline for when this pause will be lifted, meaning you are currently restricted to the limitations of the "Copilot Free" tier despite having an active academic status.

3. How to check your actual Copilot Plan in VS Code
   If you want to verify what VS Code is pulling from your GitHub token, you can check the editor's internal developer logs.

4. Open VS Code.

5. Open the Output panel by pressing Ctrl + Shift + U (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + U (Mac).

6. In the drop-down menu in the top-right corner of the Output panel, switch from Tasks or Terminal to GitHub Copilot (or GitHub Copilot Chat).

7. Look through the initial initialization lines when the extension starts up. If your student override is successfully active, you will see a initialization log line referencing your entitlement data, such as:
   [INFO] [auth] Status: OK, Plan: Student or Enabling Student features

8. Alternatively, if you press Ctrl + Shift + P (or Cmd + Shift + P), type "GitHub Copilot: Status", and run the command, it will output your exact subscription metadata in a popup or a log file.

What to expect right now: Because of the April 20 freeze, your VS Code logs will most likely state your plan is Free rather than Student or show your monthly completion counter. Rest assured, you don't need to reapply; your student status is securely attached to your account, and the full Copilot features will unlock automatically the moment GitHub lifts the activation pause.

[muhammadammar232425-dotcom]

Yes, this can be expected. If your Student Developer Pack is approved, the benefits may not always be reflected immediately in the "Active subscription" label under Licensing.

To verify whether Copilot Student benefits are active:

Check the GitHub Education dashboard and confirm your Student Developer Pack is active.
In VS Code, sign in with the same GitHub account and test Copilot features. If premium/student features are available, your account is likely correctly provisioned.
Try checking the Copilot settings or account page to see whether any student-related benefits are listed.

If you were approved on May 21 and still only see "Copilot Free" after several weeks, it may be worth contacting GitHub Education Support. They can confirm whether your account has been fully provisioned or if your Copilot Student benefit is affected by any current activation limitations.

You're not the only one who's seen a delay between Student Pack approval and Copilot benefit activation.

[kavix]

Hi,

Yes — this can be expected behavior, and it usually causes confusion.

Why you still see “Copilot Free”

Even if your GitHub Student Developer Pack is approved, the UI under Settings → Licensing may still show:

• “Copilot Free” or
• “Copilot Individual (Free tier)”

This does not always reflect the actual entitlement state correctly in real time.

How to verify your real Copilot status

Check these instead:

1. GitHub Billing / Licenses page

Go to:

• https://github.com/settings/copilot

Look for:

• “Copilot Individual (Student Pack)” or
• “Copilot access included via education pack”

2. VS Code confirmation

In VS Code:

• Open Command Palette → GitHub Copilot: Sign In
• Then check Copilot chat or inline suggestions

If active, you should see:

• Inline completions working
• Copilot Chat available (if enabled for your plan)

3. GitHub Education status

Check:

• https://education.github.com/pack

Make sure it shows active benefits applied

⸻

About “plan activation pause”

There was no permanent global “student Copilot pause,” but:

• entitlement syncing can be delayed
• UI licensing display can lag behind backend activation
• rollout changes can temporarily affect visibility in settings

⸻

Bottom line

If Copilot works in VS Code, your subscription is active — even if the settings page still says “Free.”

If it doesn’t work in VS Code, then it’s an actual entitlement issue and you should:

• sign out/in in VS Code
• reconnect GitHub account
• or re-check Education Pack activation

If this answer helped resolve your issue, please consider marking the discussion as answered. It helps others with similar problems find the solution more easily. 🙂

[avijit-990]

Hi @cordovank ,

Yes, this is completely expected right now, and you definitely aren't the only one dealing with it!

To answer your questions directly:

The Pause: GitHub officially paused all new sign-ups for the Copilot Student plan on April 20, 2026 to manage server demand. Since your education pack was activated on May 21 (after the pause began), your Copilot access is temporarily stuck on the "Free" tier.

Checking in VS Code: You can verify your status by clicking the Copilot icon in the bottom right corner of VS Code. If it prompts you to upgrade or says "Free," the Student plan hasn't been activated yet.

Unfortunately, there is no workaround right now except to hold tight until GitHub lifts the restriction. The good news is that your education benefits are verified and safe—Copilot is just stuck in a waiting room for now!

Hope this helps clear things up.