How to sign in Onenote using my school mail account?

Question

How to sign in Onenote using my school mail account?

NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1 20

I started taking note on Onenote website but when I opened the Onenote app on my Window 10, it said that that my account had signed out and I have to sign in to get it sync. But my school mail account cannot be used to sign in. What should I do?

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Answer 1

Teddie Dang 1,365 Independent Advisor

Hi @NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1

First, please go to the following page while signed in with your school account: https://portal.office.com/account/?ref=Harmony#subscriptions. Under Subscriptions, please let me know which Microsoft 365 or Office 365 license is assigned to your account. This will help us confirm whether your license includes access to the OneNote desktop app.

If your account only shows Office 365 A1, please note that this plan provides access to the web-based Office applications but does not include the desktop versions of the Office applications. Therefore, OneNote can be used through the web, but the OneNote desktop app is not included with an A1 license. In this case, you can continue using OneNote on the web with your school account.

You can read more at A1 products and features - Microsoft 365 Education | Microsoft Learn

If you have a license that includes the desktop applications such as Office 365 A3 or A5, but OneNote still does not allow you to sign in, please also let me know:

The exact error message you receive when trying to add or sign in with your school account in OneNote.
Which OneNote application you are using. You can check this under File > Account > About OneNote and provide the version shown there.
Whether other Microsoft 365 desktop applications, such as Word or Excel, allow you to sign in successfully with the same school account.

NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1 20 Reputation points

2026-09-25T07:18:34.82+00:00

Hi, mine is A3. The picture below shows the exact what OneNote tell me.

My OneNote version is 2608 and other Microsoft app allow me to sign in successfully
Teddie Dang 1,365 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-25T07:41:59.5266667+00:00
Hi @NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1

Since OneNote is showing “SIGN IN REQUIRED” and your school account works normally in other Microsoft 365 apps, you can try the following workaround for a possible duplicate account mapping in OneNote.

Before modifying the registry, I recommend backing up the relevant registry key. Also, please make sure your latest notes are visible in OneNote on the web before proceeding.

Close OneNote completely.

Press Windows + R, type regedit, and select OK.

Navigate to: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\DocToIdMapping

Look through the folders under DocToIdMapping and check for duplicate mappings for the same school/OneDrive/SharePoint location. Do not delete the entire DocToIdMapping key.

If you identify a duplicate mapping, delete only that duplicate entry.

Close Registry Editor and reopen OneNote.

Click Sign in again and check whether the notebook starts syncing.
Teddie Dang 1,365 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-27T01:48:03.1633333+00:00

Hi @NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1

May I know if you had a chance to test the solution I shared? If you need further assistance, please feel free to let me know. Thank you!
Teddie Dang 1,365 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-29T00:07:45.8433333+00:00

Hi @NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1

I just wanted to follow up on this thread to see if there have been any updates. Whenever you have a chance, please feel free to let me know. Thank you!
NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1 20 Reputation points

2026-10-03T03:26:54.0566667+00:00

hi, i'm back. sorry for late response since my week was busy and i had to take note on Onenote web.

i just tried your instruction and i wasnt sure that i fully understand the "delete duplicate entry". when i tapped the key you mentioned, it showed 3 version of my account log in, so i just deleted the duplicate which is 2 out of 3, and when i came back to my Onenote app, there was still this kept showing up (the image)

another change i noticed is that after i deleted the 2 duplicate version, the "sign in again" change to "sign in"

i mean i still havent solved the problem yet
Teddie Dang 1,365 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-03T12:55:20.25+00:00
Hi @NGUYỄN ANH THƯ LQT53E1

Hi, thank you for coming back with the results.

Just to clarify my previous instruction: seeing three entries under DocToIdMapping does not by itself mean that two of them are duplicates. I apologize for not making this clearer. Please do not delete any additional entries from that registry key.

Since you deleted two of the three entries because they appeared to be duplicates, I recommend restoring the registry backup that you created before making the changes:

Close OneNote.

Locate the .reg backup file that you exported previously.

Double-click the .reg file.

Accept the prompts to restore the backed-up registry information.

Restart Windows.

After restoring the backup, please don't make any further changes to DocToIdMapping.

Your OneNote is now displaying: “You can't sign in here with a work or school account. Use your personal account instead.” Since your notebook and Microsoft 365 A3 license are associated with your school account, I would not recommend signing in with a personal Microsoft account instead.

As the next step, you can try clearing the locally cached Microsoft 365 authentication information. Please note that this may sign you out of other Microsoft 365 applications on this computer, so you may need to sign in to them again afterward.

Close OneNote and all other Microsoft 365 applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.

Open File Explorer and enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneAuth

Back up the OneAuth folder somewhere safe first and then remove its contents.

Next, go to: %localappdata%\Microsoft\IdentityCache

Back up this folder as well and then remove its contents.

Restart Windows.

Open Word first. If prompted, sign in using your school account and make sure Word recognizes the account normally.

Then open OneNote and select Sign in again. Enter the same school account and check whether OneNote now recognizes it as a work or school account.

If OneNote still specifically says that a work or school account cannot be used after these steps, please don't make any further registry changes. Let me know what happens and whether Word remains signed in successfully with the same school account after the restart.

In the meantime, please continue using OneNote on the web and make sure your important notes are synchronized there.