Keep running into a "Something went wrong" error after entering my school authorization code into my Excel desktop app.

Question

Keep running into a "Something went wrong" error after entering my school authorization code into my Excel desktop app.

Patrick Nicolas 0

I've tried reinstalling the program and that didnt seem to work. This problem only occurs for 365 desktop apps.

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Stefan Blom 357.3K MVP Volunteer Moderator

I can confirm that I can sign into the web version

I cannot access the account section in excel as it states, log in, create an account, or close excel.

I can access the desktop version of excel on my macbook.

Since this works on another device, your Macbook, you may want to double-check the license type. Is the product name Microsoft 365? Or does the product name include the word Office, as in Office Home & Business 2024?

Patrick Nicolas 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T02:02:50.95+00:00

Hi Stefan,

The license shows as "Microsoft 365 Subscription" on my Mac.
Stefan Blom 357.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-28T10:42:11.2766667+00:00

The license shows as "Microsoft 365 Subscription" on my Mac.

Thanks for the follow-up. The most likely explanation is that there is some type of license conflict for the installation on your PC.

Are you able to start any of the Office apps on your PC, so that you can see the File > Account screen?

Answer 2

Hendrix 2,770 Independent Advisor

Hi Patrick,

Since the issue occurs only in the desktop applications, I’d like to narrow down whether this is an activation issue, a licensing issue, or a problem with the desktop sign-in component.

Could you please confirm the following?

Does the error include a number or code, such as 1001, 0x80070005, etc.? If possible, please share a screenshot with personal information hidden.
Can you sign in and use Excel in Excel on the web?
In Excel, under File > Account, does it show Unlicensed Product, Activation Required, or your school account?
Can you use the desktop applications on another computer with the same school account?
Please also sign in to the Microsoft 365 portal with your school account and check whether you have the "Install apps" option

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Hope to hear from you soon.

Patrick Nicolas 0 Reputation points

2026-10-22T23:29:40.4333333+00:00
Hi Hendrix,

I can confirm that I can sign into the web version

I cannot access the account section in excel as it states, log in, create an account, or close excel.

I can access the desktop version of excel on my macbook.

Install apps option is present. I used that to reinstall the desktop apps.

I've also contacted my schools IT department and they mentioned how theres nothing they can do on their end

this issues also occurs when i try to sign into word, teams and even if i try to add my school account to the "Access work or school" section in settings.

Thanks,
Hendrix 2,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-23T18:15:19.1966667+00:00
Hi Patrick,

Thank you for providing those details. Since your school account works in Microsoft 365 on the web and in the desktop version of Excel on your MacBook, this isn't an issue with the Microsoft 365 license that your school assigned to you, but is likely related to the Windows sign-in component used by Microsoft 365.

Please follow these steps to repair the Windows organizational-account sign-in package:

Close all Microsoft applications, right-click Start, and open Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).

Run the following command:

if (-not (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin)) { Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown } Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin

After the command finishes, restart the computer and try signing in to Excel again.

If you are using a school-managed computer and do not have administrator permission, please ask the school’s IT department to run this step for you.

For more information about this issue, please refer to: Error “Something Went Wrong [1001]” signing in to Microsoft 365 Desktop Applications | Microsoft Sup…
Hendrix 2,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-26T23:03:28.5+00:00

Good day Patrick,

How are things going? Any updates would be appreciated.
Patrick Nicolas 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T02:10:43.1366667+00:00

Hi Hendrix,

Apologies for the late response but I've just ran that in the terminal and unfortunately this did not work.
Hendrix 2,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-27T21:51:43.8333333+00:00
Hi Patrick,

In that case, please run the following command from Command Prompt dsregcmd /status. From the results, share only these entries (Please do not send the complete output because it can contain device and organization identifiers):

AzureAdJoined

WorkplaceJoined

WamDefaultSet

AzureAdPrt

DeviceAuthStatus, if displayed

After that, please test the sign-in from a new local Windows user profile:

Open Settings > Accounts > Other users > select Add account.

Choose "I don’t have this person’s sign-in information"

Select "Add a user without a Microsoft account"

Create the temporary test account, then sign out of Windows

Sign in to the new account, open Excel, and try signing in with the school account
Patrick Nicolas 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T01:55:42.81+00:00
Hi Hendrix

Here's what was displayed:

AzureAdJoined: NO

WorkplaceJoined: NO

WamDefaultSet: YES

AzureAdPrt: NO

DeviceAuthStatus, if displayed: N/A

In regards to the local windows user test, that too gave the error "Something went wrong"
Hendrix 2,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-28T21:48:56.7633333+00:00

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for providing the results. The dsregcmd results mean that your computer is not currently registered or joined to your school. In this case, your school may have a security policy requiring Windows devices to be registered or managed.

Please contact your school administrators and ask them to check the sign-in logs and confirm whether the sign-in was blocked by Conditional Access, device compliance, device registration restrictions, or an authentication policy.
Hendrix 2,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-30T23:01:38.1966667+00:00

Good day, Patrick

Can you sign in to your account successfully?

Answer 3

Since reinstalling did not help and the issue only affects Microsoft 365 desktop apps, the next supported fixes are local sign-in and app repair steps.

Restart Windows, then sign back in and try Excel again.
Repair Microsoft 365.
- Windows 11: Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features > select Microsoft 365 > Advanced options > Repair. If that does not help, use Reset if available.
- Windows 10: Right-click Start > Apps and Features > select Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 > Modify > choose Online Repair > Repair.
- Note: this repairs the full Office suite, not just Excel.
Check the work or school account connection in Windows.
- Open Settings > Accounts > Access work or school.
- If the school account is listed, disconnect it, then connect it again and sign in with the school account.
- Then open Excel and try signing in again.
If the sign-in error is specifically Something went wrong [1001], two known causes are documented:
- security software interfering with the Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin sign-in component
- user profile management issues, including roamed profile data causing authentication data to become invalid
For temporary relief for the [1001] sign-in issue, restart the device. Microsoft also documents a WAM repair in user-mode PowerShell:

Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin\_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown
Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost\_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown

If Office still fails to start or sign in after repair, uninstall and reinstall Microsoft 365 using the Microsoft uninstall troubleshooter, then reinstall Office.
If installation or reinstall is blocked by proxy, firewall, antivirus, or connection issues, use the Microsoft 365 offline installer.