Authentication Error?

Question

When attempting to connect to a Teams meeting that I was invited to, I received this (redacted) error message:

“AADSTS50020: User account '—-' from identity provider 'live.com' does not exist in tenant '—-' and cannot access the application '29d9ed98-a469-4536-ade2-f981bc1d605e' (Microsoft Authentication Broker) in that tenant. The account needs to be added as an external user in the tenant first. Sign out and sign in again with a different Azure Active Directory user account.”

I signed out and signed back in again, and even deleted/re-installed the Teams app, but am still receiving the same error message. I have the Authenticator app, but wasn’t prompted by the system to use it. I don’t know what an Azure Active Directory user account is… can someone please help?

Answer 1

Hi Lindsay, I can see how this would be confusing. The error means you’re signing in with a personal Microsoft account, but the meeting is hosted in an organization’s Azure Active Directory, which only recognizes work or school accounts or invited guests.

Basically, your account isn’t linked to their tenant yet. First, try joining through the Teams web app in an incognito browser and sign in with the account that was invited. If that doesn’t work, click “Join as a guest” from the meeting link.

If you need full access, the organizer will need to add your Microsoft account as a guest in their tenant.

Quick question: do you have a work or school account with that organization, or are you using your personal email?

Regards,

Rez

Answer 2

The error message you are encountering, AADSTS50020, indicates that the user account you are trying to use does not exist in the tenant associated with the Teams meeting. This typically happens when:

1. You are using a personal account (like one from live.com) instead of an organizational account that has been invited to the tenant.
2. The account needs to be added as an external user in the tenant before you can access the application.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

• Check with the meeting organizer: Ensure that your account has been invited as a guest or external user to the tenant where the Teams meeting is hosted.
• Sign out and sign in again: Make sure to sign out completely from Teams and then sign back in using the correct organizational account that has been invited.
• Use a different browser or an incognito window: Sometimes, cached credentials can cause issues. Trying a different browser or an incognito window may help.

If you are unsure what an Azure Active Directory (AAD) user account is, it is essentially an account that is managed within an organization's Azure Active Directory. This is typically used for work or school accounts, as opposed to personal Microsoft accounts.

If you continue to face issues after following these steps, consider reaching out to your IT support for further assistance.

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References:

• Error AADSTS50020 - User account from identity provider does not exist in tenant
• How to Troubleshoot Common Issues