How can I remove an old email from self populating when logging into 365?

Question

How can I remove an old email from self populating when logging into 365?

Anonymous

I have Microsoft Office 365 through GoDaddy. I have also been in contact well over a month and a half with both GoDaddy and Microsoft on this issue. They haven't been able to fix it.

When I sign in or activate Word or Excel on my Mac laptop (MacBook Air, OS 15.4.1), the Microsoft/GoDaddy pop-up screen comes up with a pre-populated old email. I change the email to the current one with the 365 subscription linked to it and then put in the password, then approve the authentication through authenticator. I receive this error: We were unable to verify your account. Please sign in for (OLD EMAIL ADDRESS) or cancel and try a different account. I then re-enter correct email but continue to get this same error.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled Office 365 many times. I have cleared the cache and deleted the keychain information. I have also signed into Word online, but it doesn't work either. Outlook is working just fine on my Mac laptop. Only having issues with Word and Excel.

I have also tried to log in while in Word, but still have the same issue. Excel I can't even get into to be able to sign in or activate.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Answer accepted by question author

Jim G 134.1K MVP

Hi

Austin didn't tell you to restart your Mac after running the license removal tool. That's essential.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Hi Ted,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, unfortunately with the MacOS we do not have any options to really "get into" the path and remove the outdated credential. I've been in this situation for many times, and I've tried to not reach to this final solution but until now, it seems like only creating new Mac profile or factory reset could fix this issue directly without consuming so much time doing troubleshooting.

Please let me know if you have any further questions and help me to mark my answer as "Helpful" for future members who have similar queries.

Sincerely,

Austin H - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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3 additional answers

Answer 1

Anonymous

This WORKED! THANK YOU!

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Answer 2

Hi Austin,

I removed the Office license files, nothing changed. I ended up creating a new Mac profile. The Word and Excel programs work on this profile. I was able to log in with the correct email address with/through Microsoft.

So what does this mean for the original profile? Is the only way to fix this issue on the original profile to do a factory reset? (UGH!!)

Is there any way to "clear or remove" the old email address with the Microsoft log in window? A full factory reset seems extreme just to remove old credentials.

Thanks for your help!

Ted

Answer 3

Hi Ted,

Thank you very much for raising concern to Microsoft Support Community.

According to this issue, it seems like the old email address has been deeply connected in your operating system. As all methods have been tried including reinstallation, keychain information deletion - but they did not work.

You could try this method for the last time: How to remove Office license files on a Mac - Microsoft Support

If the issue persists, it is recommended to perform a factory reset or create a new Mac profile on the affected computer. This process will thoroughly remove old credentials from the system. Although this method may seem inconvenient, it ensures a comprehensive solution to the problem when it is caused by outdated credentials.

Please let me know once you have the update.

Best regards,

Austin H - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist