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How to fix "Cached credentials have expired" and can't be re-entered

Anonymous
2023-10-27T04:52:31+00:00

Using Word (16.78 installed on my laptop, not the online version with Microsoft 365) on MacBook Pro (2020, 2.3 GHz Quad-core Intell Core i7) running Sonoma (14.1)

Have AutoSave turned on with AutoRecovery set to save every five minutes. Files are stored in OneDrive and synced to a folder on my local drive.

When working in Word the following banner message appears within 1 minute of any edits being made. It is located in a yellow band above the document and below the menu bar, with an X in a circle on the left and a "Sign in" button at the right.. (I would love to upload a screenshot but your system tells me "failed to upload" for either a png or jpg file.)

  • Message reads: "Sign in Required We can't upload or download your changes because your cached credentials have expired"
  • No further editing can be done until it is addressed.
  • Clicking the "Sign in" button opens a dialog window with Mac's typical header (red circle for closing the window and "Word" in the gray bar at the top) with a "Loading" icon (spinning donut). This dialog window closes on it's own before providing any other information or opportunity for input, e.g. a field for entering login credentials or any other user input. At this point I can edit the document for approximately 1 more minute until the banner message reopens and interrupts work until it is dealt with again.
  • Clicking the X on the left of the banner message closes the banner message and allows me to edit for approximately 1 minute before it reappears and interrupts work until it is dealt with again.

I have tried:

  • Turning off AutoSave which works, but is an untenable solution since AutoSave is vital.
  • Ensuring I have logged into my corporate OneDrive account before working in Word –– makes no difference.
  • Uninstalling and reinstalling Word, which appeared to work for about one day. I can't keep doing that daily to get junky software to work.
  • Searching for answers to this issue and have found plenty of complaints but no working solutions for Macs.

Oddly, this same issue does not occur with Excel or Powerpoint (also 16.78, installed on my local hard drive) and which I have set up with AutoSave and the same way of storing on OneDrive and syncing with a local drive.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | MacOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-27T06:12:19+00:00

    Dear CRT,

    I suggest you first back up the data on your Mac, sign out of all accounts from the Office applications, do the following and then do a test to see the result.

    a. Close all Office for Mac applications.

    b. From Finder Go/Go to Folder (Shift+Cmd+G).

    c. Enter "~/Library/Containers" and press Go (Return key).

    d. Find the Microsoft Word folder.

    e. Select and delete that folder using File/Move to Trash (Cmd+Delete).

    f. Delete this folder: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office (back up the folder first).

    g. Open Spotlight by selecting the magnifying glass at the top right of your desktop.

    h. Search for and open Keychain.

    i. In the search field, enter adal.

    j. Select all items whose type is MicrosoftOffice15_2_Data:ADAL:<GUID>, and then press Delete.（Please note that the two Office credential caches must be hidden. To unhide the 2 caches, click on "show visible items" in the "Keychain" menu top bar (keychain -> view -> "show visible items") Once the hidden items are visible, search for "Office" and you will see below 2 items listed.）

    k. In the search field, enter office.

    l. Select the items that are named Microsoft Office Identities Cache 3 and Microsoft Office Identities Settings 3, and then press Delete.

    m. Quit Keychain Access.

    n. Navigate to <YourUserName>Library > Group Containers.

    o. Find the folders below and move them to Trash.

    UBF8T346G9.ms

    UBF8T346G9.Office

    UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost

    Warning: Outlook data will be removed when you move the three folders listed in this step to Trash. You should back up these folders before you delete them.

    p. Restart the Mac.

    Thanks for your effort and time.

    Sincerely

    Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator

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