claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] [Billing] Max 5x → Max 20x upgrade fails with "Unable to update subscription" — same pattern as #10832, #50710, #43118 [1 comments, 2 participants]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Max 5x subscription is active and billing normally, but every attempt to upgrade to Max 20x fails reproducibly across multiple days, cards, devices, and browsers.

Errors observed: "Payment failed", "Unable to update subscription", "Stripe is temporarily unavailable."

Critical diagnostic: Stripe and my payment method are confirmed working on this account. I successfully purchased $38.72 of extra usage credits the same day, on the same card, through the same account — charge processed cleanly and credits applied immediately.

This rules out card issues (Indian card and UK-issued card with correct UK billing address both fail on upgrade; Indian card succeeds for extra usage), bank issues (bank confirms no block), network/browser issues (tested Chrome, incognito, mobile app, iOS Restore Purchases), Stripe outage, and India-specific RBI friction.

The remaining variable is the subscription state machine on Anthropic's backend. "Unable to update subscription" specifically points to a stuck upgrade/proration flow.

Same pattern as #10832, #43118, #50710, #45890, #41499.

Support conversation ID 215474130697182 filed via in-app messenger; Fin escalated after explicit request; 24+ hours, no human response.

Account: India-based, Max 5x active, requesting Max 20x.

What Should Happen?

It should just function right and take payment seamlessly.

Error Messages/Logs

UI errors observed during Max 5x → Max 20x upgrade attempts:

1. "Payment failed. Please try again later. If the problem persists, contact support at https://support.anthropic.com/"

2. "Unable to update subscription"

3. "Stripe is temporarily unavailable; please retry."

All three errors observed across multiple attempts on different days, different cards, different devices, and different browsers.

For comparison, on the same day from the same account on the same card, a successful $38.72 extra usage purchase processed cleanly with no errors — confirming the failure is specific to the subscription upgrade flow, not the payment processing pipeline.

No browser console errors visible to user. No error codes surfaced in the UI. Errors appear directly in the Settings → Billing upgrade flow.

Related issue #45890 includes captured network logs showing the underlying API call:
PUT https://claude.ai/api/organizations/[org_id]/subscription
Status: 400 Bad Request

This pattern is consistent with the upgrade/proration flow being rejected at the application layer (not at Stripe), suggesting stuck subscription state on the Anthropic backend rather than a payment processor failure.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have an active Max 5x subscription on a Claude.ai account, paid via Stripe web checkout, billing normally.

2. Sign in to claude.ai on web. Navigate to Settings → Billing.

3. Click "Upgrade" and select Max 20x.

4. On the Stripe checkout, enter payment details. Tested with:

   • Multiple Indian-issued cards (Visa and Mastercard, debit and credit) with Indian billing addresses
   • One UK-issued bank card with correct UK billing address and valid postcode
   • Both Stripe Link saved methods and manual card entry

5. Complete 3DS/OTP if prompted.

6. Submit payment.

Observed: "Payment failed", "Unable to update subscription", or "Stripe is temporarily unavailable" surface in the UI.

Expected: Subscription upgrades to Max 20x with prorated charge, account state and rate limits update.

Control test (isolates the bug):

1. Same account, same browser session, same day:
   • Navigate to Settings → Billing → Buy extra usage
   • Enter the same Indian card that failed in step 4
   • Submit a $38.72 charge

Result: Charge succeeds immediately, credits apply within seconds, no errors. This proves the failure is specific to the subscription upgrade flow — not Stripe, the card, the account, or the network.

Tested across Chrome (regular and incognito), iOS mobile app, home WiFi and mobile data, no VPN, signed out and back in, cache cleared, iOS Restore Purchases attempted (no orphaned subscription).

100% reproducible over multiple days. Upgrade flow has never succeeded; extra usage flow succeeds every time.

Claude Model

Other

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

latest

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

No response