Microsoft Outlook/Excel forcing use of Work account to log in

Question

I logged into my work Microsoft 365 account from my personal laptop and now I open Excel, Outlook or the other Microsoft office applications with my personal Microsoft 365 account. I have disconnected by work account from my personal laptop but that did not help.

This is message I get in Excel when I try to log in with my personal Microsoft 365 account.

In Outlook it forces me to restart outlook and use a work or school account.

How do a reset the setting back?

Answer 1

Hello @Amy K

In this case, your personal laptop is still holding on to your old work account’s management profile or cached credentials, even though you already removed the account from Windows settings. This is why Outlook, Excel, and other Office apps continue forcing you to sign in with a work/school account.

I suggest that you can try these troubleshooting steps to see if it helps
1/ Clear cached Microsoft 365 authentication data

• Office apps may still use stored org‑account tokens.
• Delete the contents of these folders:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneAuth

%localappdata%\Microsoft\IdentityCache

(Do not delete the folder itself, just its contents.)

• Restart again once done.

2/ Remove any residual device registration

If Office keeps insisting on a work account even after uninstalling/removing accounts, your device may still be considered “work-managed.”

• Run this command in Command Prompt (Run as Administrator):

dsregcmd /leave

• This removes any remaining “workplace join” or MDM registration. This step is specifically recommended for your symptom (Outlook forcing work login).
• Restart your computer after running this.

3/ Re‑sign into Office with only your personal account

• Now open Word/Excel (Not Outlook first):
• Open Word or Excel
• Blank document -> File -> Account
• Under User Information, choose Sign out
• Sign back in using your personal Microsoft account (not your work/school Entra ID account)
• Confirm under Product Information that it shows your personal subscription.

4/ Reset your Outlook profile

Your Outlook profile may still contain the old work identity.

• Close Outlook
• Press "Win + R", type: Outlook /profiles
• Create a new profile
• Add only your personal email account

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

The apps are still treating the device as joined to or managed by the work or school environment. To get back to using a personal Microsoft 365 account only, remove the work account and its cached credentials, then sign in again with the personal account.

1. Disconnect the work or school account from Windows
   • Open Settings > Accounts > Access work or school.
   • If the work account is still listed, select it and choose Disconnect.
   • Restart the device.
2. Clear cached work credentials used by Microsoft 365 apps
   • Close all Office apps (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.).
   • In File Explorer, go to:
     • %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneAuth
     • %localappdata%\Microsoft\IdentityCache
   • Delete the contents of these folders.
   • Restart the device again.
3. Verify that the correct account type is used
   • Personal Microsoft 365 subscriptions use a Microsoft account.
   • Work or school subscriptions use an organizational (Entra ID) account.
   • When the sign-in screen appears, make sure to choose the personal Microsoft account option; if the dialog insists on a work or school account, cancel and start the app sign-in from within an Office app instead (next step).
4. Re-sign in to Office apps with the personal account
   • Open Word or Excel.
   • Create a blank document, then select File > Account.
   • Under User Information, choose Sign in (or Switch account) and enter the personal Microsoft account that has the Microsoft 365 subscription.
   • Under Product Information, confirm that the product is licensed to the personal account.
5. If Outlook still enforces the work account
   • This behavior comes from policies applied when the work account was connected. After removing the work account and clearing OneAuth/IdentityCache, Outlook should stop enforcing the work sign-in once it is reconfigured only with the personal account mailbox (Outlook.com or other personal service). If the prompt persists, ensure no work profile remains configured in Outlook and recreate the Outlook profile using only the personal account.

These steps remove the work account association and cached tokens so Excel, Outlook, and other Office apps can activate and sign in with the personal Microsoft 365 account again.

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References:

• Microsoft 365 apps activation error "Another account from your organization is already signed in on this computer"
• What's the difference between a Microsoft account and a work or school account?
• I forgot the account I use with Microsoft 365
• How to fix the issue with MS Office asking you to log in every time you open an Office app - Microsoft Q&A