Unable to activate GitHub Copilot Student Benefit due to temporary upgrade block

[suleymanibis]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Benefit Activation/Waiting

Hi everyone,

Hello, my GitHub Student Developer Pack has been successfully verified and approved. However, when I try to access GitHub Copilot, I am stuck on the Copilot Free tier. It shows the message: 'Plan upgrades are temporarily unavailable.' Because of this temporary pause on GitHub's end, the system is preventing me from claiming my approved student benefit. Could you please tell me how to solve that problem? Thank you

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[debashish-5]

Hi @suleymanibis0,

Congratulations on getting your Student Developer Pack approved!

The error message you are seeing ("Plan upgrades are temporarily unavailable") happens because the GitHub Copilot signup pipeline automatically treats the transition from a "Free Tier" account to a "Student Benefit" account as a billing subscription change. When GitHub places a temporary pause on global billing upgrades or processes system maintenance, it accidentally locks out approved students from claiming their free access.

Here is the exact step-by-step method to bypass this interface bug and activate your benefit:

How to Resolve the Activation Block

1. Verify Your Education Status First:
   Make sure you are fully logged into your approved account and check your [GitHub Education Benefits Portal](https://education.github.com/benefits). Ensure it explicitly states your Student Pack is currently active.
2. Clear Existing Copilot Signup Sessions:
   Log out of your GitHub account completely, clear your browser's cache and cookies (or open a new Incognito/Private window), and log back in. This forces the billing system to refresh your account's feature flags.
3. Use the Direct Activation Link:
   Instead of clicking through the standard "Upgrade" buttons in your billing settings (which routes you through the blocked commercial checkout pipeline), go directly to the dedicated setup page:

• Navigate straight to: https://github.com/github-copilot/signup

4. Select the "Free" Student Tier:
   If your account status has synced correctly, this direct page should bypass the credit card screen entirely and show a message acknowledging your valid student status, allowing you to click "Get access to GitHub Copilot" for $0/month.

What to do if it remains blocked?

If the direct signup link still shows the temporary upgrade block, it means your account's billing profile is stuck in a caching loop on GitHub's backend servers.

Because this is a server-side billing restriction, the community cannot manually push it through. You will need to open a quick ticket with the [GitHub Education Support Team](https://support.github.com/contact/education). Let them know your Student Pack is approved but the billing pipeline is throwing the "Plan upgrades are temporarily unavailable" block, and an agent will manually provision the Copilot license to your account.

[Asma-Zain]

its not working, still shows free plan