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Enable auto-acceleration in SharePoint

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Auto-acceleration is a feature in SharePoint that lets you specify the default identity provider endpoint for your organization. When a user accesses a resource, instead of signing in to login.microsoftonline.com, the user is sent directly to the identity provider (IdP). When you set up Integrated Windows Authentication on Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) and the user's computer belongs to the domain, the user can sign in without entering credentials, as if they were accessing a resource within the network.

Requirements

To enable auto-acceleration, you must have a single identity provider (IdP). SharePoint must have a specific site to target when accelerating. Your organization can have multiple domains as long as there's a single IdP endpoint.

Enable auto-acceleration

To enable auto-acceleration, you need to use Microsoft PowerShell.

  1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell.

    Note

    If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell, go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management Shell."

  2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.

  3. Run the following command to enable auto-acceleration on sites that aren't shared externally:

    Set-SPOTenant -SignInAccelerationDomain "contoso.com"

  4. If you configured your IdP to support guests, you can enable auto-acceleration on sites that have external sharing enabled by running:

    Set-SPOTenant -EnableGuestSignInAcceleration $true

    Note

    You must run SignInAccelerationDomain before running this command.

    For more information, see Set-SPOTenant.

Frequently asked questions about auto-acceleration

What can I do to make the experience as smooth as possible for my users?

A: You can do two things. First, make sure your internal and external sites are clearly separated. Second, encourage users to access internal sites first as part of their daily workflow. Perhaps consider creating an internal-only site that serves as a welcome page. You can also modify your Group Policy so that users are directed to an internal home page whenever they open their browser. After the user signs in to one site (by using either method), they won't be prompted to sign to other sites.

What do I need to do to take advantage of auto acceleration on externally shared sites?

A: Guests can potentially authenticate in one of three places:

  • Microsoft Entra ID (if their organization is a "cloud" organization or they use a Microsoft account)
  • The IdP of the user's organization
  • Your IdP (if you use an on-premises extranet solution)

If you want to enable auto-acceleration for externally shared sites, your IdP needs to be able to support these use cases (or at least the ones that you want your guests to use). To support guests in Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft account, or other IdPs, your IdP needs to be able to return the user to the Microsoft Entra sign-in screen for authentication.