Sharing workspace in Loop - Unable to find colleagues university email and random other colleges are showing up - what do I do?

Hi Customer,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft community. We are happy to help you with this request.

Since you’re using Microsoft Loop and encountering issues where your fellow intern’s email address doesn’t appear when sharing a workspace, and instead, unrelated college domains or contacts show up, this is likely due to tenant restrictions, guest account provisioning delays, or autocomplete pulling from your organization’s directory. Below are steps to troubleshoot and fix this issue based on Microsoft Loop’s sharing mechanics and the provided context. These below steps may help to fix the issue:

1. Verify the Intern’s Email Address:
   • Confirm the exact email address of your fellow intern (e.g., ******@yourcollege.edu). Ensure there are no typos or variations.
   • Check if her email is part of your organization’s Microsoft 365 tenant or if it’s an external account (e.g., a personal or different college domain). If external, guest access setup is required.
2. Manually Enter the Email Address:
   • In Microsoft Loop, open the workspace, click the Share button (top-right corner), and select Workspace.
   • Instead of relying on the search/autocomplete, manually type the full email address in the sharing dialog.
   • Click Invite to send the invitation. This bypasses the autocomplete suggestions showing random colleges.
3. Check Guest Account Status (For External Emails):
   • If your intern’s email is outside your organization’s Microsoft 365 tenant (e.g., a different college domain), she must be added as a guest user in your tenant.
   • Microsoft Loop requires guest accounts to be provisioned before sharing workspaces. If her email doesn’t appear, it may not yet be synchronized:
     • Share a Loop Page First: Share a single Loop page with her email (via Share > Page link > People you choose, then enter her email). This initiates guest account creation in your tenant.
     • Wait for Synchronization: Wait 1–2 hours (sometimes as little as 5–30 minutes) for the guest account to fully provision in Microsoft Entra ID. After this, try adding her to the workspace again.
     • If you see an error like “We are unable to add members at this time,” the guest account is not yet synchronized. Wait longer or ask your IT admin to manually add her as a guest in Entra ID.
4. Clear Autocomplete Suggestions:
   • The “random colleges” appearing are likely from cached contacts or your tenant’s directory, especially if your college shares a tenant with other institutions or has a large directory.
   • To reduce irrelevant suggestions:
     • In the sharing dialog, type a few characters and delete any incorrect suggestions that appear.
     • Clear your browser’s cache: In Edge/Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data > Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
     • Test sharing in an incognito window or different browser to avoid cached suggestions.
5. Check Loop Workspace Permissions:
   • Ensure you have permission to add members to the workspace. If you’re not the workspace owner, ask the owner or an admin to add the intern.
   • Workspace sharing grants access to all pages in the workspace, so confirm no restrictions (e.g., sensitivity labels) prevent adding her.
6. Test with a Different Device or Browser:
   • Browser extensions or local cache might interfere with the sharing interface. Try sharing from an incognito window, a different browser (e.g., switch from Edge to Chrome), or another device.
   • Ensure you’re signed into Loop with your work/school account at loop.cloud.microsoft.
7. Contact Microsoft Support:
   • If the issue persists, contact Microsoft 365 Support:
     • Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Support > New service request, or visit support.microsoft.com and select Contact Support.
     • Provide details like the intern’s email, your tenant domain, and a screenshot of the issue.
     • Check the Microsoft 365 Service Health Dashboard for any outages affecting Loop or Entra ID.

• Random Colleges Appearing: Autocomplete suggestions in Loop pull from your tenant’s Entra ID directory or previously shared contacts. In educational tenants, this often includes other colleges or subdomains, especially if your college shares a tenant. Manually entering the email avoids this issue.
• Guest Account Delays: Sharing workspaces with external users requires guest account provisioning, which can take up to 2 hours. Sharing a page first speeds this up.
• Tenant Restrictions: If both interns are from the same college but use different domains (e.g., subdomains like student.yourcollege.edu vs. yourcollege.edu), your tenant may treat them as external, requiring guest setup.
• Licensing: Ensure your account and the intern’s (if internal) have a Microsoft 365 license that supports Loop workspace access (e.g., Enterprise, EDU, or SMB). Guest users don’t need a license to access shared content.

If you provide more details (e.g., whether the intern’s email is in the same tenant, any error messages, or if you’re an admin), We can tailor the solution further. Let us know if you need help with any specific step!

Best regards,

Clover-L – MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hi Customer,

Just checking in to see if the above information was helpful. If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back. If you think my reply is helpful to you, please remember to mark it as an answer. Warm thanks. 

Clover-L – MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist