Excel android and onedrive fail constantly

Born Confused 0 Reputation points
2026-11-08T03:52:26.4933333+00:00

I have OneDrive logged in and it works, i can save and edit files on my desktop and on my Z Fold 7.

I have MS Office logged in on the same credentials as one drive, and i have a paid version of Office.

All logged into the same account......

the problem is, when i open Word or Excel, i get a notice saying "One or more of your account is having trouble logging in" so i have to reauthenticate with the MS authenticator app.

have removed my account, rebooted the device removed excel and word and OneDrive, rebooted and reinstalled everything relogged in etc etc and then it allows me to se my OneDrive files in excel and word....as soon as i close the app or reboot my phone i have to reauthenticate again.

The weird thing is OneNote has no issue, this never has an issue with logging in!! I have not checked the other Office apps on android as i dont use them, but there is absolutely an issue with Word and Excel.

it is highly frustrating having to do this every single time i want to edit something while on the move....does anyone know a solution?

Thanks in advance for help

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Android
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  1. Kai-H 30,565 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-08T09:10:31.8033333+00:00

    Hi, @Born Confused

    Thanks for all the detail. Since you've already reinstalled everything, this looks like the sign-in session for Word and Excel isn't being kept after the app closes. On Samsung phones, this often happens because the battery settings put Microsoft Authenticator to sleep. Word and Excel use Authenticator to keep you signed in, so when it gets put to sleep, the sign-in drops.

    Here are some suggestions you can try:

    Open Settings > Apps > Authenticator > Battery and choose Unrestricted. Do the same for Word, Excel, and OneDrive. Then go to Settings > Battery > Background usage limits, add these four apps to Never sleeping apps, and make sure none of them are listed under "Sleeping apps" or "Deep sleeping apps." It's also recommended that you open Authenticator, tap Settings, and turn off battery optimization there too.

    In Authenticator, look for any grayed-out or duplicate tiles for your account. Those can be leftover sign-ins from other apps, so remove them and open Excel again.

    Go to Settings > General management > Date and time and make sure Automatic date and time is on. Also update Authenticator from the Play Store. Old versions and a wrong clock can both break sign-in.

    Go to https://account.microsoft.com/devices, remove the phone if it's listed, and then restart. Sign in to your account in your phone's browser first, then open Word or Excel and sign in again.

    Once Android stops putting Authenticator to sleep in the background, Word and Excel should stay signed in after you close them or restart the phone.

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