can't open word docs

Question

It keeps asking for my credentials but wont accept them. I have tried my work account too.

Answer 1

The behavior matches issues with rights-managed (IRM-protected) or cloud-stored Office documents where authentication fails or cached identity data is corrupt.

Try these steps in order:

1. Confirm the correct account and permissions
   • If the documents are IRM-protected (for example, from work or school), make sure the account being used actually has rights to the file.
   • If the file was shared from another organization (for example, contoso.com to fabrikam.com), ensure the guest account has been explicitly invited and the invitation redeemed in that organization. Without that, Conditional Access can block authentication and cause repeated sign-in prompts.
2. Update Office and try Office for web
   • Open any Office app (Word, Excel) and check for updates.
   • If the error message mentions that the Office version does not support the applied information protection policy, update to the latest version or open the file using Office for web (Microsoft365.com / Office Online). Some newer protection features (for example, sensitivity labels with dynamic watermarking) require recent Office builds.
3. If documents are from OneDrive or SharePoint and you see account problems
   • When opening documents from OneDrive or SharePoint, if a message such as “There is a problem with your account, please try again later” appears, cached identity data may be corrupted.
   • A supported fix is to remove specific identity-related registry keys and restart the computer:
     1. Back up the Windows registry first (see How to back up and restore the registry in Windows).
     2. Open regedit and go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\Identity
     3. Delete the keys FederationCacheExpiration and FederationProvider.
     4. Restart the computer and sign in again when prompted.
   • If registry edits are not possible, use Office Online to open and work with the documents until the cache refreshes automatically.
4. If the issue is with IRM-protected content specifically
   • IRM-protected files contact a licensing server the first time they are opened to verify credentials and download a use license.
   • If access is denied, it is usually because the signed-in account does not have the correct rights, or Conditional Access in the file owner’s tenant is blocking the sign-in.
   • In cross-tenant scenarios (for example, a file protected by contoso.com opened by a fabrikam.com user), ensure the guest user is properly provisioned in the resource tenant (explicitly invited and redeemed). Pass-through users without a provisioned guest account often fail Conditional Access checks, causing repeated sign-in prompts and failed authentication.
5. If nothing changes after some time
   • In some reported cases, issues with Word access and repeated sign-in prompts have resolved automatically after backend or scheduled repairs in the organization’s environment.
   • If the problem persists, contact the organization or admin that provides the Microsoft 365/Office subscription so they can check Conditional Access policies, IRM configuration, and tenant-side issues.

For now, if desktop Word continues to reject credentials, use Office for web to access critical documents while the account and tenant configuration are checked.

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References:

• Credentials don't work for IRM-protected content
• Open a file that has restricted permissions
• "There is a problem with your account, please try again later" when you open Office documents from OneDrive or SharePoint Online
• Microsoft WORD not allowing access to any of my documents. - Microsoft Q&A
• Sign In Error in Microsoft Word - Microsoft Q&A
• Can't type in Word documents - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix the issue with MS Office asking you to log in every time you open an Office app - Microsoft Q&A
• Can't sign in to microsoft 365 desktop apps - Microsoft Q&A

Answer 2

How are you trying to open the documents? For example, if someone within an organization has shared a document with you, you may need to sign in with your account to that organization (work, education).