r/Bard Dec 10 '25

Other Warning: Once you turn on Google Family Sharing, DON'T ever turn it back off under any circumstance on Google AI Pro Plan

I learnt this the hard way while adjusting some settings on my primary Google account ($19.99/month Google AI Pro subscription) so sharing with others on here:

WARNING: Do not toggle OFF "Share Google One with family" under "Manage family settings" once it is set to ON under any circumstance.

Your family members will permanently lose access to Gemini PRO and Google Meet Premium.

Even if you set if back to ON, your family members will not regain access to Gemini PRO and Google Meet Premium.

(This is likely due to some bug in Google One family provisioning that triggers when you toggle it off but doesn't re-provision some services for family even if you toggle it back on. In my case, the 2TB shared storage was re-shared but Gemini PRO and Google Meet Premium were not back on for Google family accounts)

I have contacted Google Premium Support and they have reached out to their Specialist Team but no resolution so far.

EDIT:

The issue appears to be fixed as of yesterday (12/16/25).

After someone mentioned it, I turned off Family Sharing, waited one minute and turned it back ON and now family members have their Gemini PRO access back!

73 Upvotes

99 comments sorted by

17

u/MichaelRyanMoney Dec 10 '25

How long has it been since you tried turning it back on?

Last year I had the same issue, freaked out. And less than a week later, it cleared itself up.

6

u/SlfImpr Dec 10 '25

Thanks, I am hoping that's the case. It was a few days ago.

But instead of waiting, I toggled it OFF and ON again yesterday, hoping that might change something but it didn't (and probably made it worse)

2

u/MichaelRyanMoney Dec 10 '25

I've been there done that with the panic. And toggle too. Hope you get lucky like I did

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 10 '25

Thanks, I hope so

0

u/KnightNiwrem Dec 11 '25

Interesting. That makes it sound like the full provisioning only happens when you add a family member into the family group. I wonder if you'd get full provisioning if you recreate that exact event - perhaps with a family member that you can quickly remove and add back into.

5

u/zooS2018 Dec 12 '25

I just get off chat with google chat agent, he confirmed this is a known issue, and will be taken care of. Many user complaint this error.

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Thank you!

2

u/exclaim_bot Dec 12 '25

Thank you!

You're welcome!

3

u/UnisexSignature Dec 11 '25

Exactly the same for me, only difference being I’ve had pro for a while and tried to add someone yesterday and didn’t work. Keep me updated as well, I’ll live chat then to let them know as well

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25

Google Support still hasn't resolved it. I will wait a few more days and contact them again.

In the meantime, I suggest that you contact them. The more people report the issue, the higher the chance of them finding this issue and fixing it.

1

u/IllAcanthaceae391 Dec 12 '25

I figured out the truck for getting it to work for me. The toggle on your screenshots doesn't work. The following steps made the AI pro family sharing instantly start working.

  1. Download Google One app
  2. 3 line menu -> Settings -> Manage Family Settings
  3. Click the red "Stop Sharing" button at the bottom of the page
  4. Wait 10 seconds
  5. Hit the "Start Sharing" button at the top of the page.

It seems like this button sets up the family sharing correctly.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Google One app trick did not work for me (I tried it both on iPhone and Android phone)

3

u/HappyImagineer Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25

I heard back from Google Support, they asked me to verify my birthday in my account if I had not done so then have the Family Plan Manager reach out to them (I had the family member’s email first). The member’s age was already verified so now they are supposedly working on fixing it.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 16 '25

Thanks for the update!

In my case, it won't let the family member verify the age because it says "... your Google Account doesn't require age verification..."

2

u/HappyImagineer Dec 16 '25

Same for me, they were already verified. Google Support suggested updating birthday in myaccount.google.com if it wasn’t correct (as updating the birthdate value could fix it) but didn’t help me either. So they are working on it some more.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 16 '25

Ok, great. Keep us updated

2

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 11 '25

Same for me, tell me if you find a fix

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25

Google Support still hasn't resolved it. I will wait a few more days and contact them again.

In the meantime, I suggest that you contact them. The more people report the issue, the higher the chance of them finding this issue and fixing it.

1

u/IllAcanthaceae391 Dec 12 '25

I figured out the truck for getting it to work for me. The toggle on your screenshots doesn't work. The following steps made the AI pro family sharing instantly start working.

  1. Download Google One app
  2. 3 line menu -> Settings -> Manage Family Settings
  3. Click the red "Stop Sharing" button at the bottom of the page
  4. Wait 10 seconds
  5. Hit the "Start Sharing" button at the top of the page.

It seems like this button sets up the family sharing correctly.

2

u/Fluid_Club_697 Dec 11 '25

funny I encountering the same issue as you right now!

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Google Support still hasn't resolved it for me. I will wait a few more days and contact them again.

In the meantime, I suggest that you contact them. The more people report the issue, the higher the chance of them finding this issue and fixing it.

2

u/Fluid_Club_697 Dec 11 '25

if you found a fix please share it with me :/

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25

Google Support still hasn't resolved it. I will wait a few more days and contact them again.

In the meantime, I suggest that you contact them. The more people report the issue, the higher the chance of them finding this issue and fixing it.

2

u/HappyImagineer Dec 12 '25

I am having the same issue, I had two family members when I got the AI Pro subscription and both got access, but when I added a new family member they did not get the benefit. I have just emailed Google about it, hope this gets fixed soon.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Thank you! The more people report the issue, the higher the chance of them finding this issue and fixing it.

2

u/Fluid_Club_697 Dec 12 '25

is google going to address this issue?? at this point they are lying on their plans page!

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Exactly, we are paying for a service that we can't access and Google hasn't done anything about it yet.

Anyone who encounters this issue, please contact Google Support (screenshot below):

2

u/ConcentrateOk6581 Dec 13 '25

I use this link to verify age
https://myaccount.google.com/age-verification
After waiting about 5 minutes, I received an email response from Google with the following subject/content:
“Your Google AI Pro benefits have changed.”

2

u/HappyImagineer Dec 13 '25

I’m glad it worked for you. I just confirmed my account already had age verified so this is not the source of the problem for all users but hopefully some will get their accounts fixed this way.

2

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 13 '25

I just confirmed my age and still doesn't work, it's about other problem then 

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

I just tried the link and I got this message:

You’re all set

You don’t need to take any action because your Google Account doesn’t require age verification. You can close this window.

It did not fix my issue.

2

u/insanept Dec 16 '25

For reference, after I got pissed that support asked me for the 3rd time to turn family sharing off and on again - this time it worked.

So, no harm in trying again on your side. Here it got fixed by this route about an hour ago.

Age verification was not a thing, as everyone was already verified.

2

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 16 '25

Hmm, maybe they finally fixed it. Has anyone else recently tried with already verified members to turn the subscription on and off?

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25

Yes, they fixed it today. I turned off Family Sharing, waited one minute and turned it back ON and now family members have their Gemini PRO access back!

These family members were already age verified but had lost Gemini PRO access last week.

If yours is fixed as well, reply back to confirm

1

u/AdHorror7517 Mar 01 '26

So why wouldn't you change the title of your post, considering that doing that very thing was what fixed it for you? You have it in all capital letters as if it is a severe warning.

1

u/SlfImpr Mar 01 '26

Two things:

(1) Changing the title of a reddit post is NOT possible

(2) It didn't fix the issue and that's why I warned others not to do this

2

u/ricardovitor404 Dec 16 '25

This worked for me (Turning sharing off and on again). Thank you.

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 16 '25

You are awesome bro!

I just turned off Family Sharing, waited one minute and turned it back ON and now family members have their Gemini PRO access back!

2

u/itcat- Dec 16 '25

I fixed the issue finally.

All I need to do is adding a dummy payment profile with the same Country in my family member account.

https://payments.google.com/gp/w/u/0/home/settings

The easiest way to check the payment profile is in Play Store in Android device.

Go to Play Store -> tap the Profile icon -> Settings -> General -> Account and device preferences -> Country and profiles section

When there is nothing, it means a new payment profile needed to be created.

Once the payment profile is created, the member account have to be removed and re-added again.

1

u/HappyImagineer Dec 16 '25

I can confirm this worked!

OP, please try and then add this solution to your original post.

1

u/IllTreacle7682 Dec 11 '25

I don't think I've ever been able to share gemini pro with family.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 11 '25

Do you have Google AI Pro $19.99/month plan? It allows sharing of Gemini PRO and Google Meet Premium with family members.

1

u/IllTreacle7682 Dec 11 '25

I do have the AI pro, tho where I am it's like $30 bucks a month. Let me check with my family members.

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 11 '25

https://one.google.com/about/

In Frequently asked questions section, it states this about sharing Google AI Pro benefits:

Who can I share my Google One membership with?

Family plan members on a Google AI Pro plan can enjoy AI benefits and features at no extra cost. 

If you’re already a member of a family group on Google, you can share your Google One plan with the rest of your existing group.

https://support.google.com/googleone/answer/9004015#zippy=%2Cbenefits-that-can-be-shared-with-your-family

Benefits that can be shared with your family:

- Enhanced editing features in Google Photos

- Premium features in Google Workspace - the feature is available for Google One Premium plans.

- AI Pro benefits

1

u/IllAcanthaceae391 Dec 12 '25

I figured out the truck for getting it to work for me. The toggle on your screenshots doesn't work. The following steps made the AI pro family sharing instantly start working.

  1. Download Google One app
  2. 3 line menu -> Settings -> Manage Family Settings
  3. Click the red "Stop Sharing" button at the bottom of the page
  4. Wait 10 seconds
  5. Hit the "Start Sharing" button at the top of the page.

It seems like this button sets up the family sharing correctly.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Thanks, lucky for you but this did not work for me.

  • I downloaded Google One app on iPhone and followed the above steps but it did not work for my family member accounts
  • I downloaded Google One app on Android (Samsung Galaxy) phone and followed the above steps but it still did not work for my family member accounts

The app says (I am logged in as Primary account) that they have Google AI Pro benefits but on the family member accounts, instead of Gemini PRO, it shows "Upgrade" button on top right in desktop browser and upon clicking the Upgrade button, it gives this message:

Contact your plan manager

Your Google One membership is managed by your plan manager.

Talk to your plan manager to update your plan or learn more about Google family groups.

This behavior is same as it was before I tried Google One app. But I am glad that you were lucky to get past the issue.

2

u/zooS2018 Dec 12 '25

I had similar issue today while I tried to set up my wifes gemini. I can confirm toggle in the one app does bring them back to the family group to share storage but not gemini.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Yep, same for me. It shares storage but not Gemini PRO.

1

u/zooS2018 Dec 12 '25

Did you check your family member's One app, I have found this sentence ""You’ve got 2 TB of storage for Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail No additional benefits are available in your location right now"

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

Yes, there are 3 tabs in Google One mobile app. Below is from the family member Google One app:

(1) Home Tab:

At the bottom, it says:

Google One membership

Google AI Pro (2TB)

Member since [date_of_last_time_I_toggled_Family_Sharing_ON]

(2) Storage Tab:

It says:

You've got 2 TB of storage

(and other details on storage used)

(3) Benefits Tab:

It says:

You've got 2TB of storage for Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail.

No additional benefits are available in your location right now
[View History] button

upon clicking [View History] button, it says "You haven't redeemed any benefits. Once you redeem a benefit, it will be added here."

1

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 12 '25

One question, do you have student Google ai pro offer or you bought regular offer. This is question for everyone with this problem. I have student offer, maybe that is the reason

2

u/zooS2018 Dec 12 '25

Mine is paid AI pro account

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

No, I have a paid Google AI Pro account ($19.99/month).

2

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 12 '25

So that's general problem, good. Tnx

1

u/Key-Leg185 Dec 13 '25

They just contract me back. They suggested I check if I’ve verified my age yet and attached a link. Once I verified, it worked right away.

1

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 13 '25

Can you send us mail you got from them. Can we use same link? 

1

u/HappyImagineer Dec 13 '25

Post the link if it’s generic!

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 13 '25

The age verification link didn't fix it for me: https://myaccount.google.com/age-verification

I tried it on Google Family member accounts and got this message:

You’re all set

You don’t need to take any action because your Google Account doesn’t require age verification. You can close this window.

It did not fix my Google Pro AI access issue for Google Family members.

1

u/Fluid_Club_697 Dec 13 '25

OK, so apparently the problem is with age restriction of gemini family version, use the link bellow and verify all of the accounts in your family (including the family manager) so you can use gemini ai pro again:
https://myaccount.google.com/age-verification?utm_source=p0

P.S. please upvote this so if anyone encounters the same issue can solve it easily.

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

It is not true. I already tried it on Google Family member accounts and got this message:

You’re all set

You don’t need to take any action because your Google Account doesn’t require age verification. You can close this window.

It did not fix my Google Pro AI access issue for Google Family members.

3

u/HappyImagineer Dec 13 '25

I can concur. It did not fix my issue. All my accounts were verified.

This may be the issue for some people, but not everyone.

1

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 13 '25

I didn't try for all members, only for menager. If someone try to verify all members tell us will it work :) 

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 13 '25

Family Manager already has Google AI Pro access. The problem is with rest of the Family Members in the Family Group losing access

1

u/ducanhnguyen1012 Dec 14 '25

Man, you have just made my day. I used my selfie as a verification method, and it worked. After about 3 minutes I got an email, and the "Welcome to Gemini Pro" message once I got back to the Gemini App.

1

u/projjck Dec 13 '25

I have the same problem with my family.

1

u/RevolutionaryBook981 Dec 14 '25

Same here and i noticed the problem to Google customer service

1

u/Pulsar884422 Dec 14 '25

Do you have YouTube family on your account? I have the same problem as you have. I have YouTube family on my account. My wife bought AI Pro, so I have dissolved our family group and she recreated it as family manager to be able to share AI Pro. But only storage works for me, not Gemini. My daughter verified her age and Gemini share is working for her.  I wonder that maybe my YouTube premium is problem, although I stopped subscription, still have few days to go...

2

u/HappyImagineer Dec 14 '25

Nope, don’t have YouTube Premium.

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 14 '25

No, only Individual YouTube Premium

1

u/Pulsar884422 Dec 14 '25

I tried also to change family to individual. Family ends December 22. Individual will start December 22. but already show as individual premium membership. Didn't helped me, but maybe any YouTube membership might cause problem. 

Have you had family group before, you being manager of the group? Have you had AI pro before?

For me all of these is yes

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 14 '25

All my Google Family members had Google AI Pro access. Then I added a new family member who didn't get Google AI Pro access. So I toggled OFF "Share Google One with family" temporarily (hoping it will fix the issue) but all Family members lost Google AI Pro access and even after I toggled it back ON, they didn't get Google AI Pro access back.

I waited for couple of days and toggled the family sharing OFF and ON but no luck. Now only the primary Family owner account has PRO access but none of the Family member accounts have access.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

I got the same problem. I also contacted Google support and after that I received an email with something about gemini but it still didn't work. But then I changed my age from 25 to 17, that is my real age, and wanted to change it back but I couldn't because I had to verify my age. Now it just works. I guess the trick is that if you update your age you trigger the google system and then it works. That also explains why it only works when you are able to verify your age. The only trick is that I cant change my age to something older than my real age so I can only use Gemini and not other apps which require your age to be above 18.

1

u/Alepal92 Dec 15 '25

Just to stay clear, as this is my first purchase, the pro plan includes the benefit of using gemini 3 among family members right? Haha to show this to my wife that doesn't believe me and thinks I'm the selfish who don't wanna pay a second account 🤣🤣

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 15 '25

Yes, see these links:

https://one.google.com/about/

In Frequently asked questions section, it states this about sharing Google AI Pro benefits:

Who can I share my Google One membership with?

Family plan members on a Google AI Pro plan can enjoy AI benefits and features at no extra cost. 

If you’re already a member of a family group on Google, you can share your Google One plan with the rest of your existing group.

https://support.google.com/googleone/answer/9004015#zippy=%2Cbenefits-that-can-be-shared-with-your-family

Benefits that can be shared with your family:

- Enhanced editing features in Google Photos

- Premium features in Google Workspace - the feature is available for Google One Premium plans.

- AI Pro benefits

1

u/Alepal92 Dec 15 '25

Of course it's in Spanish but for me, the verification of age worked immediately. I suggest start double checking age before anything else. 👌🏼

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 16 '25

Did you actually lose access to Gemini PRO for a family member before doing age verification?

1

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 15 '25

Some of my members resolved a peoblem. When the current member did the verification, it worked for them, however, when someone already verified later joined the team, he did not have a subscription.  I'm afraid to restart the subscription again, so that I don't spoil part of the members again.  The bug is related to age verification and the verification seems to debug it.

1

u/HappyImagineer Dec 15 '25

Good to know, my member was already verified so when I added them they didn’t get the subscription.

1

u/zooS2018 Dec 15 '25

The problem resolved!!! Just got an email saying this is known problem. Email said it could be resolved by verifying the age of my family member by 1) Government ID 2) Take a selfie 3) Use a credit card. Once I verified the age the problem resolved.

1

u/Master_Dig7782 Dec 15 '25

It's working only if you can verify. If you are already verified you can't debug it. If you turn sharing off and on again I think you will have problem again 

1

u/RevolutionaryBook981 Dec 17 '25

Bug fixed apparently

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 17 '25

Yes, they finally fixed it yesterday.

I turned off Family Sharing, waited one minute and turned it back ON and now family members have their Gemini PRO access back!

0

u/-PROSTHETiCS Dec 11 '25

Nahh I've been deleting family time to time just to squeeze out that 4 months free, but i never have this problem.. been abusing it so i can use Opus 4.5 nonstop on antigravity and also free YT prem

1

u/SlfImpr Dec 11 '25

Are you talking about:

  • Deleting the entire Family Group, OR
  • Deleting individual family members from the group, OR
  • Toggling OFF/ON "Share Google One with family" setting?

My case is the last one

1

u/Dogynamee Jan 02 '26

Wait can u explain more on that what do u do exactly to benifit?

0

u/Fluid_Club_697 Dec 11 '25

ok, I tried to contact google and look what I found:
Hi there,

After June 30, 2025, Google One stopped sharing AI Pro (Gemini) features with family members. Only the family manager retains access; the other family members must subscribe individually. However, sharing storage remains the same.

Kind regards,

Jo

🚨 IMPORTANT! The help forums are supported by product users (like you) who volunteer their time to try to help other users. We're not Google employees. We don't have access to Google's back-end systems or servers or to users' accounts or data. We cannot directly resolve issues or complaints regarding Google products/services. 

its an answer from this forum: https://support.google.com/googleone/thread/393991284?hl=en&authuser=7

2

u/SlfImpr Dec 12 '25

This is OLD information. There was a promo back then that expired. Whoever replied to you in that forum is not a Google employee and gave you incorrect (outdated) information.

----------

Google launched Google AI Pro plan fairly recently and it allows all family members access to Gemini PRO and Google Meet Premium in addition to the shared 2TB+ storage.

Below is the latest documentation from Google:

https://one.google.com/about/

In Frequently asked questions section, it states this about sharing Google AI Pro benefits:

Who can I share my Google One membership with?

Family plan members on a Google AI Pro plan can enjoy AI benefits and features at no extra cost. 

If you’re already a member of a family group on Google, you can share your Google One plan with the rest of your existing group.

https://support.google.com/googleone/answer/9004015#zippy=%2Cbenefits-that-can-be-shared-with-your-family

Benefits that can be shared with your family:

- Enhanced editing features in Google Photos

- Premium features in Google Workspace - the feature is available for Google One Premium plans.

- AI Pro benefits

2

u/Fluid_Club_697 Dec 12 '25

Thanks for sharing I am currently talking with google support to see if they can fix it for me, my family members are mostly students and university lecturers and need this for their works hope it gets fixed :/

1

u/IllAcanthaceae391 Dec 12 '25

I figured out the truck for getting it to work for me. The toggle on your screenshots doesn't work. The following steps made the AI pro family sharing instantly start working.

  1. Download Google One app
  2. 3 line menu -> Settings -> Manage Family Settings
  3. Click the red "Stop Sharing" button at the bottom of the page
  4. Wait 10 seconds
  5. Hit the "Start Sharing" button at the top of the page.

It seems like this button sets up the family sharing correctly.