How to sign in to my work onedrive in the File Explorer

Mary H 0 Reputation points
2026-03-31T18:25:49.27+00:00

I am signed into my OneDrive work in Publisher, Word, etc. However, when I open my pc's File Explorer, it says that I am in my personal OneDrive. How do I open/sign in to my work's OneDrive?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For business | Windows

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  1. AI answer

    2026-03-31T18:26:02.0766667+00:00

    To use the work OneDrive in File Explorer, the work/school OneDrive account must be added and signed in to the OneDrive sync client on the PC (separate from being signed in inside Word/Publisher).

    Use these steps:

    1. Open the OneDrive app on Windows
      • Select Start and search for OneDrive, then open it.
      • If OneDrive setup starts automatically, continue with the sign-in steps below.
    2. Add the work or school account
      • In OneDrive, go to My Accounts (upper-right of the OneDrive app window).
      • Select Add an account.
      • Choose Work or school account (Assigned by your organization) and select Continue.
      • On the sign-in screen, enter the same work email address used in Word/Publisher and its password.
    3. Complete the OneDrive for work or school setup
      • When prompted with This is your OneDrive folder, accept the default folder location or select Change location, then select Next.
      • In Sync your OneDrive files to this PC, choose whether to sync all folders or only specific ones, then select Next.
      • Continue through the Welcome to OneDrive dialog until the option Open my OneDrive folder is available, then select it.

    After setup completes, File Explorer will show a separate entry for the work OneDrive (typically labeled with the organization name) alongside the personal OneDrive. That is the location to use for work files in File Explorer.

    If sign-in fails for the work account, sign in via the browser at https://portal.office.com/onedrive or https://myaccount.microsoft.com to confirm the account is active, then retry the steps above.

    References:

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  2. Ryan-N 15,910 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-31T19:11:42.2933333+00:00

    Hi @Mary H,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    I understand that you are currently unable to see OneDrive for work on your computer.

    This may be because you have not yet added (signed in with) your work account to the OneDrive application on your computer.

    The reason you can still see OneDrive data in other applications is that your business account is already synced with the cloud, and those applications are accessing data through OneDrive on the web. However, OneDrive for work has not yet been set up on your desktop.

    To add OneDrive for your Business account, please follow the steps below:

    Step 1: Right-click the OneDrive icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

    User's image

    Step 2: Select Settings.

    Step 3: Select Account > Add an account, then sign in with your work account.

     User's image

    I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

    Thank you for your patience and your understanding. 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 "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

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