We couldn't find a work or school account with that email address

Matt Mills 0 Reputation points
2026-10-02T16:00:10.28+00:00

Had work office installed at one time. Have moved on from that job. I have uninstalled office and restarted then logged in with my personal office 365 account and installed office from that page. It always says, "We couldn't find a work or school account with that email address" when I try to open excel. It opens but I always have to go through this and then hit the x to cancel it. I've tried removing recommended registries entries and everything. I don't really want to ditch my computer profile but heard that can work? Remove the profile and then create a new one and move everything over. Recommendations?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-02T16:00:26.9+00:00

    Yes — creating a new Windows profile can work, but it should be a last step. Based on this scenario, the more likely cause is that the old work account is still cached on the device.

    Try this in order:

    1. Disconnect the old work account from Windows
      Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school.
      If the old organization account is listed, select it and choose Disconnect.
    2. Remove cached credentials
      Open Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.
      Remove entries that reference the old work account or organization.
    3. Clear identity/token cache folders
      Press Windows + R and open these paths one at a time, deleting the contents where possible:
      • %LocalAppData%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe
      • %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy
      • %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\OneAuth
      • %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\TokenBroker
      • %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\IdentityCache
    4. Restart the PC
      This is required so Office and Windows reload account state cleanly.
    5. Reinstall Office from the personal account
      Sign in to your Microsoft account’s Services & subscriptions page and install Office from there so the install is tied to the personal subscription.
    6. If the prompt still appears, check for multiple Office installs
      In Control Panel > Programs and Features, search for office and uninstall any extra Office versions that are not being used, then restart.
    7. Last resort: test with a new local administrator profile
      If the old work identity is still stuck only in the current Windows profile, a new local admin profile is a valid test and often works. If Office signs in normally there, the issue is isolated to the current profile’s cached identity data.

    A profile rebuild is reasonable only after the Access work or school, Credential Manager, and cache-cleanup steps fail.

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

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  2. Elena-VH 1,970 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-02T16:23:37.2366667+00:00

    Dear Matt Mills,

    It sounds like Office is still trying to authenticate against an old work/school account that was previously connected to Windows or Office. Since Excel opens and works after you dismiss the message, this is usually caused by a stale account reference.

    Before creating a new Windows profile, since you've already uninstalled and reinstalled Office and even tried removing the recommended registry entries, I would suggest following the AI answer's recommendations first, as they cover the most common causes of this issue.

    To help narrow this down, you could ask the customer:

    • Does the issue occur only in Excel, or do Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook show the same prompt?
    • Which version of Office are you using: Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 2024, Office 2021, etc.?
    • Under Settings > Accounts > Access work or school, do you still see any old work account listed?
    • Are you signed into OneDrive with a personal account, or is there any old work OneDrive still configured?
    • If you create a temporary new Windows user profile and install/sign in to Office there, does the same message appear?
    • Have you ever used any Excel add-ins connected to your former employer's Microsoft 365 environment?

    If you have any questions or if I have misunderstood anything, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to your update.

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