Windows 11 Settings Account Login - Change Email?

Question

I have a work PC that I log into using my work based Microsoft account, and this forum.

Now I get a notification every week, including this Monday morning, saying there is a problem with my Microsoft account and I need to sign in. Clicking the notification takes me to Settings => Apps => Advanced app settings.

A yellow bar (partially pictured below) says Sign in with your Microsoft account... so I click the button and it says to sign in with an**** email, but that is my personal email and not associated with this computer. I do login using my personal email on a few websites on Chrome/Edge/Brave/Firefox, but the account associated with my computer is my work email starting ig**.

I cannot enter a different email address in the form here as it yells at me and is very un-intuitive on how to sign in with a different email address. My only conclusion is Microsoft has wrongly scraped my personal information from websites I sign into with my personal email and is trying to apply that to my PS Settings against my wishes and privacy.

I have no interest and will not sign into the work computer using my personal email.

How can I both stop getting this notification and sign in using my work email since Microsoft has made the wrong assumption here?

Answer 1

Hi @Andrew T

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum 

Regarding your issue, it usually happens because at some point, while signing into a Microsoft service (like OneDrive, Office, or even the Microsoft Store) on a browser, a checkbox was left ticked that said, "Allow my organization to manage my device" or "Use this account everywhere on this device." This "ghost" link is what's triggering that weekly notification. 

Here are a few steps you can try: 

1. Remove the "Ghost" Account 

• Open Settings (Windows Key + I). 
• Go to Accounts > Access work or school. 
• Look for your personal email in that list. 
• Click it and select Disconnect. (this won't delete your Gmail; it just tells Windows to stop trying to use it for system features). 
• Also, check Accounts > Other user. If it’s listed under "Accounts used by other apps," remove it there as well. 
• For more details, please refer to: Manage User Accounts in Windows

2. Clear the Flag 

• Go to Settings > Accounts > Access Work or school 
• If you see a message saying "Some of your accounts need attention," and it still shows the personal one, ignore that button and instead look for your Work account. 
• Ensure your work account says Connected. If it asks to "Fix now" for the work account, proceed with that one only. 

3. Disable the "Shared Experiences" 

• Go to Settings > Apps > Advanced app settings (where you were before). 
• Look for Share across devices. 
• 
• Toggle this to Off.

Hopefully it will help work with your issue and if you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.    

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