Can not access my personal word or excel account

Sign in with the personal Microsoft account that owns the Microsoft 365 subscription, even if its email address looks like a school address, and verify that Microsoft 365 appears under that account’s Services & subscriptions page.

1. Verify the account and subscription

1. Close Word and Excel.
2. Open the Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page and sign in with the personal account you normally use.
3. Confirm that Microsoft 365 Personal, Microsoft 365 Family, or your Office purchase is listed and active.
4. If it is not listed, sign out and try any other personal email address that may have been used to purchase or redeem Office. An address will not activate Office unless the product is associated with that Microsoft account.^1^
5. Reopen Word, select File > Account, sign out of any account displayed, and then sign in with the account confirmed above. If asked to choose an account type, select Personal account.

Personal Microsoft accounts and work or school accounts are separate identities, even when they use the same or similar email address. They are not synchronized, and a personal account cannot sign in to a service expecting an organizational account.^2^

2. If Microsoft says the personal account cannot be found

Run the Microsoft account sign-in helper and enter the email address you believe owns the subscription. It checks whether the personal account is recognized and provides the appropriate account-recovery action.^3^

Do not create a new Microsoft account with that address yet. A new account would not automatically inherit the existing subscription or purchase.

3. If the subscription is present but Windows keeps requesting a school account

This branch applies only on Windows:

1. Open Start > Settings > Accounts > Access work or school.
2. If an old school account is listed, select it and choose Disconnect.
3. If OneDrive is signed into that school account, right-click the OneDrive work or school icon and select Settings > Account > Unlink this PC.
4. Sign out of every Office application.
5. Restart Word and sign in only with the personal account that owns Microsoft 365.

Removing an obsolete work or school connection resolved the matching case where Microsoft 365 Personal apps incorrectly searched for an organizational account.^4^

Disconnect only an old school connection that you no longer require; doing so can remove access to that organization’s managed resources.

4. If Word and Excel still show an activation or permission warning

On Windows 10 or later, run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter on the affected computer through Get Help. It is intended to diagnose subscription activation problems.^5^

If Office activates successfully but only particular documents still say that you lack permission, that is a separate file-access issue. Check File > Account to see which identity is signed in; documents stored in a school OneDrive or SharePoint location may require the school account that was granted access, rather than the personal account.^6^

References

1. Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office | Microsoft Support
2. What's the difference between a Microsoft account and a work or school account? | Microsoft Support
3. Microsoft account sign-in helper | Microsoft Support
4. Installed Microsoft 365 Personal apps on Windows laptop. Apps do not recognise my e-mail address - Microsoft Q&A
5. Microsoft 365 troubleshooters | Microsoft Support
6. Permissions needed to upload files in OneDrive for work or school | Microsoft Support