Unable to change OneDrive account becuse of an inactivated account

Jay 0 Reputation points
2026-11-04T02:18:04.0533333+00:00

I am trying to use the OneDrive app on a MacBook, but when I try to login it asks me to input a password for an account that has been deactivated and I can't access. Both of the accounts are school accounts. I imagine the solution is to unlink the account but don't know how to do that before login.

Below is a photo of everything I can interact with in the OneDrive app with the old email blacked out

Document r

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For education | MacOS

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  1. Jade Ng 16,535 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-04T03:00:28.4666667+00:00

    Dear Jay,

    This usually happens when your Mac or the OneDrive app still holds saved sign-in information for the old account. Because the app does not let you reach its settings before signing in, the old account needs to be cleared from the Mac itself.

    Please try the steps below in order and let me know after each step if the sign-in screen changes.

    1. Sign out of all Office applications

    • Open any Office app (for example, Word or Excel).
    • Click the app name in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then select Sign Out for all listed accounts.
    • Quit all Office applications completely (Command + Q).

    2. Remove the old account from your Mac

    • Open System Settings > Internet Accounts.
    • If the old account is listed, select it and click Remove (or the minus button).

    3. Clear the saved credentials in Keychain Access

    • Quit OneDrive completely.
    • Press Command + Space, type "Keychain Access", and press Enter.
    • In the search box, type "OneDrive" and delete the entry named "OneDrive Cached Credential".
    • Search for "Office", "ADAL" and "MicrosoftOffice", and delete any entries that belong to the old account.

    4. Reset the OneDrive app

    • Open Finder > Applications.
    • Right-click OneDrive and select Show Package Contents.
    • Open Contents > Resources.
    • Double-click ResetOneDriveApp.command (or ResetOneDriveAppStandalone.command if you installed the standalone version).
    • If the reset file is missing, your OneDrive version is probably outdated. Drag OneDrive to the Trash and install the latest version from the Microsoft website.

    5.Restart your Mac This ensures all cached authentication data is cleared completely.

    6.Sign in to your new account again Open OneDrive and sign in with your new account only.

    I hope this helps. If the issue still persists, please reply below and I will be glad to assist further.

    Looking forward to your response.

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