It appears that I am sign in to my account....when I make changes it wants me to sign in again but it says it is having trouble signing me in and show trouble shooter info

Question

It appears that I am sign in to my account....when I make changes it wants me to sign in again but it says it is having trouble signing me in and show trouble shooter info

Criag Ayers 0

Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-11T07:35:26.6833333+00:00

Are you trying to sign in to activate your Office apps?

Or are you trying to access your account page at https://account.microsoft.com ?
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-11T20:34:57.74+00:00

#1 I open excel directly, I can see that I am signed in in the top right of the page....I can do work.....when I try to close excel it asks me to sign in again but it give me that it is having trouble signing me in.

#2 I can open Microsoft thru a browser and then open the excel page but the same thing happens

#3 I can SAVE AS a different document whenever I want

#4 I have cleared cache, I have restarted and done anything that I can think of and it is the same all the time

Is there anyway that I can chat or talk to someone?

It appears that I am signed in as I can see my logo at the top right of the excel or word document....but it will not save what I am doing as it asks me to sign in again....Make Sense?
Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-11T23:32:16.68+00:00

Is this specifically with the web browser apps, or do you also run the Office apps locally on your PC?
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-12T23:48:58.06+00:00

I open my excel & word docs directly from a file where they are saved. I do not open them any other way or thru an app or browser
Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-12T23:54:03.2766667+00:00

I open my excel & word docs directly from a file where they are saved. I do not open them any other way or thru an app or browser

Does that mean that you double-click the icon for a Word or Excel file in Windows File Explorer (or maybe on the desktop)?

Or are you using the OneDrive interface in your web browser?

If you do make use of the locally installed apps, try starting an app first and then see if you can open a file via File > Open >Browse.
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-14T01:15:16.8366667+00:00

I double click on the file within the folder where it is saved…WHY can I not chat or call someone which would probably get it fixed in a couple minutes???
Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-14T05:57:03.0633333+00:00

I double click on the file within the folder where it is saved…WHY can I not chat or call someone which would probably get it fixed in a couple minutes???

None of your fellow users in the forums can answer questions on why Microsoft does what it does. Only Microsoft would be able to tell for certain. At a guess, they are saving money by limiting phone support, but that is just speculation on my part.

You can get in touch with chat support, as others have suggested in this thread.

Or you can try peer support. Start by providing a bit more information.

2 answers

Your answer

Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-11T07:35:26.6833333+00:00

Are you trying to sign in to activate your Office apps?

Or are you trying to access your account page at https://account.microsoft.com ?
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-11T20:34:57.74+00:00

#1 I open excel directly, I can see that I am signed in in the top right of the page....I can do work.....when I try to close excel it asks me to sign in again but it give me that it is having trouble signing me in.

#2 I can open Microsoft thru a browser and then open the excel page but the same thing happens

#3 I can SAVE AS a different document whenever I want

#4 I have cleared cache, I have restarted and done anything that I can think of and it is the same all the time

Is there anyway that I can chat or talk to someone?

It appears that I am signed in as I can see my logo at the top right of the excel or word document....but it will not save what I am doing as it asks me to sign in again....Make Sense?
Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-11T23:32:16.68+00:00

Is this specifically with the web browser apps, or do you also run the Office apps locally on your PC?
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-12T23:48:58.06+00:00

I open my excel & word docs directly from a file where they are saved. I do not open them any other way or thru an app or browser
Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-12T23:54:03.2766667+00:00

I open my excel & word docs directly from a file where they are saved. I do not open them any other way or thru an app or browser

Does that mean that you double-click the icon for a Word or Excel file in Windows File Explorer (or maybe on the desktop)?

Or are you using the OneDrive interface in your web browser?

If you do make use of the locally installed apps, try starting an app first and then see if you can open a file via File > Open >Browse.
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-14T01:15:16.8366667+00:00

I double click on the file within the folder where it is saved…WHY can I not chat or call someone which would probably get it fixed in a couple minutes???
Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-14T05:57:03.0633333+00:00

I double click on the file within the folder where it is saved…WHY can I not chat or call someone which would probably get it fixed in a couple minutes???

None of your fellow users in the forums can answer questions on why Microsoft does what it does. Only Microsoft would be able to tell for certain. At a guess, they are saving money by limiting phone support, but that is just speculation on my part.

You can get in touch with chat support, as others have suggested in this thread.

Or you can try peer support. Start by providing a bit more information.

Answer 1

Carl-L 23,090 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Criag Ayers,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Before we proceed, may I know if the AI assistant suggestions work for you? Also, may I know if this happens with every Microsoft login or just 1 log in of a particular login site?

I'm waiting for your reply.

Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-11T20:42:03.0266667+00:00

how can i chat with a rep to help me
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-11T20:46:23.22+00:00

just my home account
Criag Ayers 0 Reputation points

2026-09-11T21:14:38.07+00:00

No the AI does not work as it does not understand the issue that I have
Carl-L 23,090 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-12T13:10:20.48+00:00
Hello Criag Ayers,

Can you please try to answer the other user questions first.

If you want to contact chat support, you can try these steps.

Type Live chat in the search box.

Now click Get help, and Select Contact Support or Sign in to contact support below.

Go to the Products and services tab, and choose Other products

On the Category tab, choose Billing and Account Profile questions

Go to Confirm.

You can now choose the option of Chat with a support agent on your web browser.

Answer 2

This sign-in loop is commonly caused by cached cookies or credentials, or by an account issue rather than the app itself. Work through these checks in order:

Clear browser cookies and cache in Microsoft Edge:
- Open edge://settings/privacy
- Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files
- Set Time range to All time
- Select Clear now
- Restart Edge
Note: clearing cookies signs out of websites.
Test whether the account can sign in on the web:
- For a personal Microsoft account, try https://account.microsoft.com
- For a work or school account, try https://myaccount.microsoft.com
If web sign-in also fails, treat it as an account problem:
- Personal account: use the Microsoft Sign-in helper or reset the password.
- Work or school account: contact the IT administrator to reset or unlock the account.
- If multifactor authentication was changed recently, update security info at https://mysignins.microsoft.com.
If the issue is specifically with support.microsoft.com repeatedly asking to sign in:
- Make sure microsoft.com, support.microsoft.com, login.live.com, and login.microsoftonline.com are either all outside the Trusted Sites list, or all included together in Trusted Sites.
- For personal Microsoft accounts, first sign in at https://login.live.com/, then open support.microsoft.com in a new tab.
If the message is the Microsoft 365/Azure/Intune error “Sorry, but we're having trouble signing you in”:
- View the page source of the login.microsoftonline.com error page
- Search for HR= in the source
- Note the numeric error code and contact technical support with that code
If this is on a Windows device, restart the device and install any pending updates, because temporary sign-in issues can be resolved by a restart.

If the account is Outlook.com/Hotmail and sign-in still fails, use the Outlook sign-in troubleshooter.