Error accessing shared documents with University Account

Question

Hello, I cannot access Word/PowerPoint documents shared with me. The links redirect to the web version, but signing in with my university account fails. Error Details: Correlation ID: [Moderator note: personal info removed] | Date: [Moderator note: personal info removed] | URL: https://onedrive.live.com/ | Issue Type: Unknown.

Please what can be done to solve the issue?
It's not the first time that happens and using the web version of Microsoft when I have the program is starting to get a lot frustrating.

Answer 1

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

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Hi Nick

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and sharing your experience.

I understand how frustrating this experience can be, especially when you already have the desktop apps installed and expect shared files to open smoothly.

Based on your description, this behavior may indicate a sign‑in or account context issue. When a shared document opens via a onedrive.live.com link and redirects to the web sign‑in page, an existing browser sign‑in with a personal Microsoft account can cause the authentication attempt to target the wrong tenant, resulting in sign‑in failure.

To help resolve the issue, please try the following steps:

• Sign out of all Microsoft accounts in your browser, or open the shared link in a private/incognito window, then sign in using only your university account.
• Verify that Word and PowerPoint on your Mac are signed in with the same university account that the file was shared with.
• Sign in first at https://www.office.com, then navigate to Shared files from there instead of using the direct link.
• If the issue persists, please contact your university IT administrator and provide the Correlation ID and timestamp you included.

Please let me know how things go on your side as your update can also assist others in the community who may be facing the same issue.

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