I cannot login into my Office 365 desktop applications

Juha Vainionpää 20 Reputation points
2026-04-14T09:39:59.4+00:00

I cannot login into my Office 365 desktop applications. Instead I get this below error message. The problem has been continuing for over 6 weeks now, even I have contacted MS support, but no reply. FYI: The web apps are functioning normally.

Correlation Id: [Moderator note: personal info removed]

Timestamp: 2026-04-14T09:25:47.000Z

DPTI: [Moderator note: personal info removed]

Message: An unexpected error occurred.

Tag: 7q6ca

Code: 2147483661

Move from Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For business | Windows

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | Windows
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Answer accepted by question author
Kai-H 28,690 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-04-15T12:53:33.7366667+00:00

Hi, Juha Vainionpää

Since the web apps still work, the subscription itself is usually fine, and the problem is more likely with the Windows sign-in layer on that PC rather than the Microsoft account itself.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

First, run the built-in Microsoft 365 sign-in troubleshooter. Open Get Help, type “sign in to Microsoft Office,” and follow the prompts. It is recommended that you start there because it's listed specifically for Microsoft 365 sign-in problems.

If that does not help, go to Windows Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts and remove any old Microsoft accounts under “Accounts used by other apps,” then add your personal Microsoft account again. It is also suggested that you temporarily turn off the Windows Hello-only sign-in option and try signing in with your password instead of your PIN.

One more good check is Internet Options. Press Win+R, type inetcpl.cpl, then restore/reset Internet settings, make sure TLS is enabled, proxy is off, and if needed reset the network stack. It is recommended that you try this because desktop Office sign-in can fail when those Windows internet settings are stuck, even if the browser still works.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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  1. Stefan Blom 354.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-04-21T10:28:24.6033333+00:00

    Henry-N told me that some "Support Agent", who is capable to support private accounts will contact me. No one has contacted me since.

    @Juha Vainionpää,

    As far as I know, you have to initiate contact with Microsoft support yourself. Start with the chat, available via https://support.microsoft.com/contactus.

    Unfortunately, phone support is primarily offered to business / organization customers these days.

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  2. Anonymous
    2026-04-14T11:56:45.5266667+00:00

    Hi @Juha Vainionpää, 

    Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.     

    Regarding that you can't log in to your Office 365 desktop applications.  To better understand the issue and identify the correct solution, could you please help clarify a few details below?  

    I noticed your question is posted under the Business tag, so my initial guidance will focus on work/school (Microsoft 365) accounts.        

    If this issue is happening with a personal Microsoft account instead, could you please let me know so I can adjust the troubleshooting steps accordingly?    

    1/ What type of Microsoft 365 subscription do you have?  You can check this yourself by signing in here: My account     

    User's image

    2/ If possible, could you share a screenshot showing the subscription associated with your account? 

    3/ Does this issue affect other users in your organization, or only your account? 

    4/ Have you checked with your administrator to confirm that your account has been assigned the correct Microsoft 365 license? 

    5/ Has this account ever been able to sign in to Office desktop applications on this device before? 

     

    In the meantime, If you are a user you could try this method  

    Clear Office Credentials:   

    • Remove the Work Account:  
    • Go to Settings > Accounts > Work or School Account, select your account, and choose Disconnect.    User's image User's image

    Clear Credentials:  

    • Head to Control Panel > Credential Manager and remove any cached Microsoft 365 or Office credentials.   User's image User's image
    • Try Re-adding the Account:  
    • Once everything’s cleared, go back to Settings > Accounts and re-add your work account.  

    Locate the Microsoft directory  Navigate to: 

    • C:\Users<YourUserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft  User's image User's image User's image
    • Delete the IdentityCache folder  User's image
    • Open the “OneAuth” folder. Inside, you’ll typically find subfolders like “blobs” and “accounts,” each containing information about your sign-in sessions.   User's image
    • Delete the “blobs” and “accounts” folders  User's image
    • Restart an Office app and sign in again 

    Repair Office  

    • Right-click the Start button (lower-left corner) and select Installed apps on the pop-up menu.    User's image
    •  Select the Microsoft 365 or Office product you want to repair, click the ellipses, and select Modify.    User's image
    • If you see a notification that say " allow the change on your device" click yes. Then select online repair    User's image

    Thank you again for your time and understanding. While my initial response may not resolve the issue immediately, I’d like to gather more details about your situation so I can assist you more effectively.     

    I really appreciate your patience, and I’m here to help. Looking forward to your response.  

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".       

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread

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  3. AI answer

    2026-04-14T09:40:20.79+00:00

    The error corresponds to a known class of Microsoft 365 desktop sign‑in failures typically related to the Windows Account Manager (WAM) plug‑ins or security software interfering with authentication. Because web apps work, the account and subscription are valid; the issue is local to the Windows profile/device.

    Follow these steps on the affected PC:

    1. Temporarily remove security software
      1. Sign in to Windows with an administrator account.
      2. Temporarily uninstall third‑party security/antivirus software and any standalone or obsolete WFP (Windows Filtering Platform) drivers.
      3. Restart the device.
    2. Check WAM plug‑ins in the user profile
      1. Sign in with the affected user.
      2. Open PowerShell (normal user mode) and run: 
              Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin
      Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost
      3. If either command returns nothing, go to step 3.
      4. If both return packages, run in a Command Prompt: 
              explorer.exe shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy!App
      explorer.exe shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy!App
        If the Work or school account or Microsoft account window does not open, go to step 3.
    3. Repair/reinstall the WAM plug‑ins In user‑mode PowerShell, run: 
         Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown
   Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown
      Then restart the device and try signing in to an Office desktop app again.
    4. Clean local identity caches (if sign‑in still loops or fails)
      1. Close all Office and Teams apps.
      2. Press Windows+R and, one path at a time, open and delete contents of these folders (delete only contents, not the folder itself):
        • %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy
        • %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\OneAuth
        • %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\TokenBroker
        • %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\IdentityCache
      3. Restart the device and try Office sign‑in again.
    5. Reinstall security software with exclusions If sign‑in now works:
      1. Sign in with an administrator account.
      2. Reinstall the security software/WFP drivers.
      3. With the vendor, configure exclusions for:
        • Package family names:
          • Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy
          • Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
        • Folders:
          • %windir%\SystemApps\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy
          • %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy
          • %windir%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
          • %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
          • %localappdata%\Microsoft\TokenBroker
          • %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneAuth
          • %localappdata%\Microsoft\IdentityCache
        • Processes:
          • %windir%\SystemApps\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin.exe
          • %windir%\System32\backgroundTaskHost.exe for packages Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy and Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
          • %windir%\System32\svchost.exe loading NT service TokenBroker as TokenBroker.dll
    6. If the issue persists more than 48 hours after repair
      • Collect MSOAID logs as described in Use MSOAID for authentication issues.
      • Ask the Microsoft 365 tenant admin to open a support ticket in the Microsoft 365 Admin Portal and include:
        • The correlation ID, timestamp, and error code provided.
        • MSOAID logs from the affected device.

    As a temporary workaround while troubleshooting, use Outlook on the web (OWA) and Office web applications, which are not affected by this local sign‑in issue.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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