Teams defaults to wrong email account

Question

When I open Teams it defaults to an email account that I rarely use. How do I set Teams to default to a different email account?

Answer 1

Teams account selection is controlled by the Microsoft account used to sign in, not by an in-app “default account” setting. To change which account Teams opens with, adjust which Microsoft account is primary or how accounts are used at sign-in.

If there are multiple Microsoft accounts using the same email address (for example, a Work or school account and a Personal account), the “Which account do you want to use?” prompt appears. To avoid Teams defaulting to the wrong one, change the primary sign-in alias of the personal Microsoft account so that the rarely used account no longer matches the same email address:

1. Go to the Manage how you sign in section of the Microsoft account that is currently using the same email address as the work/school account.
2. Add a new email alias or choose an existing alias.
3. Select Make primary for the alias that should be used going forward.

After this change, sign out of Teams completely, then sign back in with the account (work/school or personal) that should be used as the default. Teams will then use that account for future sign-ins.

If the wrong account is a work or school account created by another organization that shares the same domain as the personal account, contact that organization and ask them to remove the account so that it no longer conflicts at sign-in.

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References:

• Which account do you want to use?