Login issues on a Mac using Office 365 apps and a school account

Hi Sallin,

Thanks for posting back.

If the problem does not occur in another Mac user profile, then based on the above results, the problem is most likely caused by other components (non-Office components) in the original user profile. In this case, it is not easy to find the root cause. You can try the following suggestions to troubleshoot some programs.

1. I suggest you try to set Mac into safe mode in the original user profile. This can troubleshoot whether the issue is caused by startup items on your Mac.
2. I suggest you temporarily change Firewall settings, and disable the 3rd part antivirus. After that, please check again.

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.

If the above suggestions don't help, I'm afraid you've tried everything we can offer. In this case, some users decide to transfer all files and settings to the new Mac user profile or reinstall macOS to fix the problem.

Appreciate your understanding and patience.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator

I tried the complete uninstall and license removal twice. Following the first removal I installed the newest version of Office. Following the second removal I installed the older version of office for older Mac which I think is Office 2016. I still could not log in with either version.

My next step was to create a new user on the Mac. We were able to get her logged in using a different Mac user, same Microsoft account. While this is good for a temporary fix, are their any suguestion on what we can try to fix this on their main profile?

Thanks

Hi Sallin,

Thanks for posting back.

When you have any updates, please feel free and come back to share them with us. I recommend you try Suggestion 3 (switch to another Mac user profile) because according to my search, the problem of another user who experienced the same problem does not occur with another Mac user profile.

Regarding uninstalling Office for Mac, please note that the following articles are different. One article is about uninstalling Office for Mac and the other is about completely uninstalling Office for Mac. If you have not tried to completely uninstall Office for Mac before, I suggest you try again and check the results.

Uninstall Office for Mac

Troubleshoot Office for Mac issues by completely uninstalling before you reinstall

Also, I suggest you try to set Mac into safe mode. This can troubleshoot whether the issue is caused by startup items on your Mac.

We look forward to your response. Thanks for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator

The first Mac I saw about a month ago I did try some of these steps. I'll call the student of the second Mac back in and these steps on theirs.

1. I did this on the first Mac but it had no affect.
2. Can't remember if I tried this on the previous Mac but I did try it today. I connected the Mac to an unrestricted network to test if my firewall was blocking something. It had not affect.
3. I've not tried this on either Mac.
4. I did try this on the first Mac. After unistalling, following those same instructions, it still had the same issue. I believe I ended up unistalling one last time then installing the version of Office you can download for older Macs. I don't recall if the previous one was a intel Mac and I didn't check on this one.

It may be a few days, but once the student returns I'll report any results.

Thanks

Hi Sallin,

Thanks for posting in the community. We are happy to help you.

According to the error message, it can be caused by different reasons. In this case, I suggest you try the following suggestions and check again. If none of them help, please share the test results with us.  These can help us to narrow down the problem.

1. Run the license removal tool to remove all local credentials and cache files

Close and quit all Office applications, download the license removal tool, and run it. After that, please run one Office application, and sign into the school account, and check again.

2. I suggest you connect to another network and then check again.
3. I suggest you switch to another Mac user profile, run Word or Excel, and sign into the school to check again. This can help us to troubleshoot whether it is caused by the local environment in the original Mac user profile.

4. I recommend that you try the steps in this article to completely uninstall Office for Mac, and then reinstall Office from the Office Portal (www.office.com).

We look forward to your response. Thanks for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator