Continuously asking for authentication - Sharepoint Office 365

Question

Hi,

People (even having the Design, Edit permission) have to constantly put in username and password. Even after putting a check mark on 'Keep in logged in' when first log in to sight and on top of that, while still in the same session (IE Browser session), going to a different tab in the same SharePoint site and when try to open a file then asks for the username password again.

What could be the cause? We don't (yet) have any SSO/ADFS (just DirSync with password sync), but think someone  authenticated once (and still in the same Browser session), should not have to be constantly asked for reentering user name and password.

Thanks,

Ashok

Answer 1

We have had similar experiences when folks update their passwords. Please read below to see how we resolve these issues. I hope it works for you. If it does work, please let us know!

1. Log out of O365.
2. Open any Office local client (Word, PowerPoint or Excel).
3. Click on the "File" tab.
4. Click on "Account".
5. Sign out
6. Sign back in - (with the new password)
7. Sign back into O365

The steps above may need to be repeated each time the end user updates their password.

Answer 2

Hi Ashok,

Thanks for your update.

Let's perform the following steps to completely clear credentials to check the result:

1. Exit all Office applications.
2. Remove all the stored credentials in the credentials manager again (Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials). (NOTE: This will remove your stored passwords.)
3. Run regedit as administrator ->from Registry Editor, browse to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\Identity (if you are using Office 2013)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity (if you are using Office 2016)

and then delete the whole Identity folder.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Edit at your own risk. You can back up your registry first. It also applies to Windows 10

4. Restart the computer-> sign in any Office (such as Word) with your credentials.

5.Try opening file from SharePoint Online again.

Meanwhile, please share with us the answers about the three questions I asked in my first post,  as it will help narrow down the issue.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Sky Pei

Answer 3

Hi Sky,

(apologize for misspelling your name last time).

Update!

After doing the Credential Manager (step 1-4). It did not change and then he cleaned up the cache In Browser (IE) and still the same. The prompt he gets is as under:

Answer 4

Hi Ski,

I did the Credential Manager cleanup. Will let you know when user tries again.

Thanks,

Ashok

Answer 5

Hi Ashok,

About "open a file", please specify if they open the file  in the Office client or in Office Online.

If it is the Office client , the issue should be related to the credentials, please perform the following steps:

1.Sign out all the accounts from Office programs, and then close them. 

2.Remove all the stored credentials in the credentials manager (Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials). (NOTE: This will remove your stored passwords.)

3.Sign into Office programs (such as Word)again with the correct Office 365 credentials to rebuild the credentials.

4.Try opening file again to check the outcome.

If it is Office Online, please try clearing your browser cache/data/cookie using Ctrl+Shift+Delete, and then try again

If the issue persists, please provide the following information for analysis.

1.Clarify if they open files in the client or in the browser

2.Do all users encounter the same issue?

3.Please use one affected account in a pure computer to check the results. it will help identify if this issue is related to the accounts or the computer itself.

Thanks,

Sky Pei