Share via


Disabling ADAL or WAM isn't supported to fix Microsoft 365 sign-in or activation issues

To diagnose and automatically fix common sign-in and activation issues, run the Microsoft 365 Sign-in troubleshooter and Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter.

Microsoft doesn't support disabling Azure Active Directory Authentication Library (ADAL) or Web Account Manager (WAM) authentication as a solution to sign-in or activation issues. This method can adversely affect your environment.

Warning

To support compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Economic Area (EEA), the manner in which users sign in to apps on Windows is managed through enforcement within WAM. Disabling WAM authentication puts the Office client into a legacy state and a Microsoft unsupported configuration.

By default, Microsoft 365 apps (for example, Office client apps) use ADAL framework-based Modern Authentication. Starting in build 16.0.7967, Microsoft 365 apps use Web Account Manager for sign-in workflows on Windows builds that are later than build 15000 (Windows 10, version 1703, build 15063.138).

ADAL enables sign-in features such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), smart card authentication, and certificate-based authentication for Office client apps across different platforms. Some security-related features on Windows devices are available exclusively through WAM. Additionally, all future innovations are implemented through WAM.

Recommendations to resolve common sign-in issues

Authentication issues that occur during sign-in or activation typically manifest themselves as one of the following symptoms:

  • You can't sign in, and you receive repeated password prompts ("Credentials Needed" or "Needs Password").
  • The sign-in window doesn't appear, is blank, prematurely disappears, or stops responding.
  • Specific errors are displayed in Microsoft 365 apps or the sign-in user interface.

If you experience sign-in issues, consider the following recommendations:

For more information about sign-in related symptoms and solutions, see the following articles:

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.