Microsoft 365 Tenant Migration – Student Accounts Automatically Redirecting to Old Tenant on Multiple Devices

Question

Microsoft 365 Tenant Migration – Student Accounts Automatically Redirecting to Old Tenant on Multiple Devices

Raymond Whittle 0

Writing from [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] we recently migrated our students from an old Microsoft 365 tenant to a new Microsoft 365 tenant.

This is not an isolated device issue. We are seeing the problem across iPhones, Android devices, iPads, and personally owned Windows laptops.

Current tenant

Students now use the new sign-in:

******@students.utech.edu.jm

For example:

[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]@students.utech.edu.jm

When students access Microsoft 365 through a web browser, authentication works correctly. Outlook Web, Teams Web, Word Online, and the other Microsoft 365 web applications work using the new tenant.

Problem with installed/mobile applications

The problem occurs when students use Microsoft 365 applications that were previously configured while they were members of the old tenant.

For example, on a personally owned Windows laptop, Word or Outlook was installed and used last year with the old tenant.

When we now open the application and enter:

[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]@students.utech.edu.jm

the application accepts the username, but after clicking Next, it automatically changes the account to:

[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]@studentsutechedu.onmicrosoft.com

This is the student's identity from the old tenant.

The authentication process then attempts to use the old tenant, including the old MFA/Authenticator registration.

The old Authenticator registration has already been replaced with the student's new-tenant Authenticator registration, so the student cannot complete the sign-in.

This is happening on multiple device types

We have observed similar behavior with students using:

Windows laptops
iPhones
iPads
Android phones/tablets

Many of these devices were previously configured with the old Microsoft 365 tenant.

Important observation

The web applications authenticate correctly against the new tenant, while previously installed/mobile Office applications continue to discover or resolve the old tenant.

Because this occurs across multiple device types, we suspect that this may involve Microsoft Entra tenant/account discovery, domain configuration, tenant migration behavior, Office application account discovery, or another cloud-side configuration, rather than simply a local device cache.

Old files

Students still need access to files that were stored in the old tenant, including SharePoint/OneDrive content.

We therefore do not want to simply disable or remove the old tenant identities/resources without understanding the consequences.

Is there a tenant migration, domain, account discovery, home-tenant, cross-tenant, Office identity, or SharePoint/OneDrive configuration that we should check?

We would also appreciate guidance on the correct Microsoft-supported procedure for migrating students from the old tenant to the new tenant without requiring every student to manually troubleshoot each device, particularly because we have a large number of students using iOS, Android, iPadOS, and personally owned Windows devices.

My name is[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

My email is [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]@utech.edu.jm

0 comments

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi Raymond,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, I understand that you have switched to a different domain. However, when you use an account associated with the new domain to sign in, the application automatically redirects you to the old sign-in information, preventing the sign-in process from being completed.

I also noticed that you mentioned the issue does not occur when signing in through a web browser. Generally, the web version can synchronize information almost immediately, while applications installed on the device may continue to retain old sign-in information in their cache.

In this case, the issue is most likely caused by incomplete synchronization or cached old sign-in information on the device, rather than by the account or domain configuration.

In addition, changing the domain generally does not affect the ownership of or access permissions to students’ files. Students should still be able to sign in with their accounts under the new domain and access these files through the web version.

Please follow the steps below and check whether the issue is resolved.

For phones or tablets

First, uninstall and reinstall the affected application. You should also clear the application cache by following the appropriate steps for your Android or iOS device.

On Android:

1/ Open Settings.

2/ Select Apps.

3/ Select Outlook or the affected Office application.

4/ Select Storage.

5/ Select Clear cache.

The path may be:

Settings > Apps > Outlook or the affected Office application > Storage > Clear cache

The names and locations of these options may vary depending on the device manufacturer and Android version.

On an iPhone or iPad:

1/ Completely close the application:

-From the Home Screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle.

-Swipe left or right to locate Outlook or the affected Office application.

-Swipe up on the application preview to close it.

2/ Restart the device.

3/ Open the App Store and update Outlook or the affected Office application to the latest version.

4/ Offload the application while retaining its data by going to:

Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Outlook or the affected Office application > Offload App

5/ Then reopen or reinstall the application and sign in with the account associated with the new domain.

Then reopen or reinstall the application and sign in with the account associated with the new domain.
For personal Windows computers

Please perform, or ask the students to perform, the following steps:

Sign out of all accounts in the Office applications, and then completely close all Office applications.
Open File Explorer, paste the following path into the address bar, and then delete the files and folders inside:

%localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy

Open a browser and press Ctrl + Shift + Delete. Then select the option to clear browsing data or select Clear now.
In Windows, go to:

Settings > Accounts > Access work or school

Check whether the old school account appears under Access work or school.
If it does:
- Select the old account and choose Disconnect.
- Then select Connect and sign in again with the correct school account associated with the new domain to re-register the device.
Next, remove any saved credentials:

1/ Open Control Panel.

2/ Select User Accounts > Credential Manager.

3/ Check both Windows Credentials and Generic Credentials.

4/ Locate any entries associated with the old Microsoft 365 account.

5/ Select and remove those credentials.

Restart the computer and try adding the correct account to the Office application again.

If the issue persists, you can download the OLicenseCleanup.zip package, extract the file, and run the OLicenseCleanup.vbs tool.

This tool can help remove Office licensing information, identities cached in the HKCU registry hive, and saved Office credentials from the device.

For more information, please refer to Reset Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise activation state.

After completing these steps:

1/ Restart the device.

2/ Reopen the Office applications.

3/ Sign in with the correct account associated with the new domain.

4/ Check whether the application still automatically redirects you to the old sign-in information.

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, I recommend creating a support ticket with Microsoft Technical Support. The support team has more advanced diagnostic tools that can be used to examine your tenant environment and determine the source of the issue.

To contact Microsoft Technical Support, you can refer to the following documentation:

Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

I hope this information is helpful.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it.

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.