Powerpoint not letting me access own files, saying unauthorized

Question

Powerpoint not letting me access own files, saying unauthorized

laura s 0

I made a power point the other day and went back on today to try and open it and it keeps saying i am unauthorised to open it and to please sign in with a different account?

Ryan-N 16,135 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-09T19:55:43.28+00:00

Hi laura,

I wanted to follow up and check whether the information I previously provided has helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you have any updates regarding the issue or if anything remains unclear, please don't hesitate to let me know. Feel free to share any additional information with me. I am always happy to listen and provide further assistance whenever needed.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

2 answers

Your answer

Ryan-N 16,135 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-09T19:55:43.28+00:00

Hi laura,

I wanted to follow up and check whether the information I previously provided has helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you have any updates regarding the issue or if anything remains unclear, please don't hesitate to let me know. Feel free to share any additional information with me. I am always happy to listen and provide further assistance whenever needed.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Answer 1

Bulldog 4,865

Your copy of Microsoft 365 is owned by the Microsoft account that paid for it with the form of payment that was stored in that Microsoft account. Therefore, in order to use Microsoft 365, you have to sign in to the apps with the username and password of that Microsoft account. No other Microsoft account is authorized to use it.

0 comments

Answer 2

Hi laura,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.Based on your description, you are currently unable to open the PowerPoint file.

Please try the following steps:

Please try signing out and signing back in to your account, and make sure that the email address you are using is correct.
Please try opening the file using PowerPoint for the web to check whether you can access it there.
Update Office to the latest version.
Please try clearing the cache for Office applications by following these steps:
- Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
- Select the Next time Office starts, clear all previously-started web add-ins cache check box.
- Select OK.
- Restart PowerPoint.

If the steps above still do not allow you to access your file, I recommend contacting your school administrator (usually the school’s IT department or administrative office) for assistance in determining why your account is unable to open the file, as well as identifying which account currently owns or has permission to manage the file.

Note: If you are unable to contact the administrator directly, you can ask your teacher to help you get in touch with the IT department.

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.

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