Unable to Access Microsoft Founders Hub – Redirect Loop to Signup Page

Question

Hello,

I’m currently experiencing an issue accessing the Microsoft Founders Hub portal.

When I attempt to log in, I’m continuously redirected to the signup page: https://portal.startups.microsoft.com/login

I am trying to sign in using the MS account I used to apply. However, after signing in, the system keeps me in a login loop with no option to access my portal.

Context: I have already been approved for $5,000 in Azure credits through Founders Hub.

Request: Could you please help with resolving the login issue and restoring access to my existing Founders Hub account

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello vgibarraf,

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in Q&A forum.

The redirect loop you are seeing is most commonly caused by one of two things either the browser has stale or corrupted session cookies tied to your Microsoft account, or there is a mismatch between the account identity used during the Founders Hub application and the one being used to sign in now. Since you have already been approved and have $5,000 in Azure credits, the account itself is valid the portal just cannot complete the session handshake cleanly.

Here are the steps to resolve this:

Clear your browser cookies and cache for Microsoft domains Open your browser settings, clear all cookies and cached data, then close and reopen the browser completely. This removes any stale session tokens that may be causing the loop.

Try signing in from a private/incognito window Open a new private or incognito window and navigate directly to https://portal.startups.microsoft.com. This bypasses any cached session data and gives you a clean login attempt.

Confirm you are using the exact Microsoft account tied to your application When prompted to sign in, make sure you select the same email address you used during the Founders Hub application and approval process. If you have both a personal Microsoft account and a work/school account under the same email, explicitly choose the correct one at the account picker screen.

Allow cookies for Microsoft sign-in domains in your browser If your browser is set to block third-party cookies, this can cause sign-in loops. In your browser settings, ensure cookies are allowed for microsoft.com, microsoftonline.com, and login.live.com. If you are on a corporate network or VPN, try signing in from a personal network to rule out proxy or firewall interference.

Try a different browser or device If the loop continues, try signing in using a different browser (Edge or Chrome) or a different device entirely. This helps determine whether the issue is local to your machine or tied to the account on the service side.

Verify your Microsoft account works on other portals Try signing in to the main Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com with the same account. If that works fine but Founders Hub still loops, it points to a service-side account mapping issue that requires Microsoft support to resolve.

Contact Microsoft for Startups support directly If none of the above steps work, please reach out to the Microsoft for Startups team through their support page at https://startups.microsoft.com/en-US/contact. Provide them with the email address associated with your approved account, your approval details, and a brief description of the redirect loop. They have the ability to look up your Founders Hub account on the backend and manually restore access or relink your identity.

If this answer helps you kindly accept the answer which will help others who have similar questions.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix.

Answer 2

The redirect loop indicates a sign-in problem with the Microsoft account or browser environment rather than with the Founders Hub approval itself. Use the following steps to isolate and fix it:

1. Confirm the correct account is used
   • Ensure the same Microsoft work/school account that was approved for Founders Hub is used to sign in.
   • If there is both a personal and a work account with the same email (for example, ******@contoso.com), explicitly choose the work account when prompted. Using the wrong identity can cause missing access or loops.
2. Clear browser cache and cookies and retry
   • Clear cookies and cache for Microsoft domains, then close and reopen the browser.
   • Try again in a fresh private/incognito window to avoid stale cookies or sessions.
3. Check browser cookie and security settings
   • If the browser or organization blocks third‑party cookies or has strict Trusted Sites rules, sign-in flows can loop.
   • For Edge (similar for other modern browsers):
     1. Open Settings → Site permissions → Cookies and site data.
     2. Turn on Allow sites to save and read cookie data (recommended).
     3. Ensure Block third-party cookies is turned off.
     4. Under Allow, add:
        • microsoft.com
        • microsoftonline.com
   • If Internet Explorer is used in any part of the flow, in Internet Options:
     1. Go to Privacy → Advanced and select Accept for first‑party and third‑party cookies, and enable Always allow session cookies.
     2. Go to Security → Trusted sites → Sites and add:
        • microsoft.com
        • microsoftonline.com
4. Avoid problematic Trusted Sites configurations
   • If organizational policy requires Trusted Sites, make sure all core Microsoft sign-in endpoints are treated consistently so cookies can be shared. For example, if any of these are in Trusted Sites, ensure all are:
     • microsoft.com
     • support.microsoft.com and its subdomains
     • login.live.com
     • login.microsoftonline.com
   • Misaligned zones for these domains can cause sign-in loops.
5. Try a different browser or network
   • Test from another browser (Edge/Chrome) and another network (home vs. corporate VPN) to rule out local policy or proxy issues.
6. Verify Azure/benefit account status
   • Since the account is already approved for Azure credits, confirm the same identity can sign in successfully to other Microsoft portals (for example, Azure portal). If other portals work but Founders Hub loops, it further points to a cookie/session issue or a service-side account mapping problem.
7. If the issue persists, contact Microsoft for Startups support
   • For persistent access issues after confirming the correct account and browser settings, raise a support request with Microsoft for Startups so they can check the Founders Hub tenant/account mapping and fix it on the service side.

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References:

• Troubleshoot-signing-in
• Troubleshoot sign in issues for support.microsoft.com
• Troubleshoot issues when you sign up for a new account in the Azure portal
• Troubleshoot sign-in issues and account access problems