How to make my business account my default login

Question

I have just bought a business Standard account but everytime I login it still defaults to my old family 356 account. How do I stop this?

Answer 1

Hello @Ed Tytherleigh

I understand that you want to stop Microsoft 365 from defaulting to your old Family account and make your new Business Standard account the default instead. I want to suggest some troubleshooting steps to help you with this:

1/ Sign out of your personal (Family) Microsoft account from all Office apps

• Open any Office app (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Go to File -> Account -> Sign out.
• Close all Office apps.

2/ Remove the personal account from Windows if you no longer need it there

• Open Settings -> Accounts -> Email & accounts.
• If your personal account appears under “Accounts used by other apps,” select it and choose Remove.
• Add your Business account if it isn’t already added.

3/ Clear old cached credentials so Office doesn’t automatically log you into the Family account

• Go to Control Panel -> Credential Manager -> Windows Credentials.
• Under Generic Credentials, remove any entries containing: "MicrosoftOffice"
• Restart your computer.
• Open an Office app and sign in only with your Business account.

4/ Use Browser Profiles (Long-Term Fix)

If you want to keep both accounts but stop them from fighting:

• In Microsoft Edge, click the profile icon in the top right of the browser.
• Select Add to create a new profile named "Work."
• Log into your Business account only in that profile.
• This keeps your Family and Business "digital lives" in two completely separate windows, so they never get confused.

If you still need my assistance, please come back with screenshots or any additional details so I can review it again and see if there’s anything more I can help you with. 

Have a nice day! 

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Answer 2

To stop sign-in defaulting to the old family (personal) Microsoft 365 account and use the new Business Standard account instead, adjust which account is used and how you sign in:

1. Understand the two accounts
   The Business Standard subscription is tied to a work or school account (for example, ******@yourbusiness.onmicrosoft.com or ******@yourdomain.com).
   The old family subscription is tied to a personal Microsoft account (for example, Outlook.com, Hotmail, or another personal email).
2. Sign in explicitly with the business account
   When seeing the “Which account do you want to use?” prompt:
   • Choose the Work or school account entry that corresponds to the Business Standard tenant (often the .onmicrosoft.com or business domain address).
3. Remove or sign out the personal account from apps/devices
   On each device where sign-in is “sticking” to the family account:
   • In Office apps (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.): go to File → Account → Sign out of the personal account, then Sign in with the business account.
   • In Windows (if using Windows 10/11): under Settings → Accounts → Email & accounts or Access work or school, remove the personal account if it is not needed, and add the work or school account.
4. Use the business account as the primary sign-in for Microsoft 365
   After signing out the personal account in Office apps and signing in with the business account, the product license and sign-in should now follow the business account by default.
5. If both accounts share the same email address
   If the same email address exists as both a personal and a work/school account and the prompt appears frequently:
   • Consider renaming the personal Microsoft account by adding a new alias and making it primary. This reduces conflicts when signing in with the business account.
   • To do this, go to the Manage how you sign in section of the Microsoft account and choose Make primary for a different alias, or add a new one.

These steps ensure Microsoft 365 apps and services prefer the Business Standard (work or school) account instead of the old family subscription.

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References:

• Which account do you want to use?
• I forgot the account I use with Microsoft 365
• Sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Standard