I cannot sign into either my personal, nor my work one drive accounts

Question

I cannot sign into either my personal, nor my work one drive accounts

Bryon Spicci 5

I cannot sign into either my personal one drive not my work one drive.

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Try these checks in order:

Verify the account credentials outside the app.
- For a personal account, sign in to the Microsoft account dashboard.
- For a work or school account, sign in to Microsoft 365.
- If sign-in fails there too, the issue is with the account authentication rather than the OneDrive app.
Confirm OneDrive is using the correct account type.
- Select the OneDrive icon in the Windows taskbar notification area.
- Select Help & Settings > Settings.
- On the Account tab, confirm the expected account is shown.
- A common cause is using personal account credentials for a work or school account, or the reverse.
If old or different accounts were previously added, unlink and relink OneDrive to the correct account.
- Identity problems between multiple accounts can block sign-in.
Reinstall OneDrive if sign-in still fails.
- This does not remove OneDrive data.
- In Windows, open Add or remove programs.
- Under Apps & features, select Microsoft OneDrive > Uninstall.
- Download and install the latest OneDrive app, then sign in again.
If both personal and work accounts fail, check for network interference.
- Firewall, VPN, or internet provider configuration can prevent OneDrive sign-in.
Account limits to keep in mind:
- Newer versions of the app support only one personal account and one OneDrive for work or school account at the same time.
- Multiple work or school accounts from the same organization are not supported.
If the work or school account still cannot sign in after these steps, contact the organization’s IT department.

References:

Answer 2

John Jefferson Doyon 87,160 Independent Advisor

Hi, @Bryon Spicci

To help narrow down the issue:

Are you using a Windows PC, Mac, or mobile device?
What exact error message or error code do you get when you try to sign in?
Can you sign in successfully to both accounts through a web browser, or do they fail there too?

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!

Christian Steglich 0 Reputation points

2026-08-27T07:28:21.7266667+00:00
I have the same issue, with the additional feature that both accounts are linked to the same e-mail address. Since a week or so my PC doesn't allow synching any more. Here my answers to your questions:

Windows 10 on a hp PC.

"This email address is used for both OneDrive and OneDrive for Business. Which would you like to sign in first?" -- but of the two buttons shown (labeled "Personal" and "Work or school"), only the "Work or school" button is active. I do not want to even use this one, I want to use the private one that I pay for every month.

I can sign in successfully to my private OneDrive account online, yes. My work account does not even have an Microsoft-managed e-mail system, we have sold e-mail management to Google -- so no, I cannot login there.
Vincent Choy 11,260 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-27T07:36:08.72+00:00

To answer Christian Steglich

One Drive (for consumer) and One Drive for Business run on different systems.

One Drive (for consumer) requires you to login via Personal email credential.

One Drive for business requires you to login via Work or School credential.

One Drive for business is typically attached to an organization or school (unless you personally signed up and are paying for a M365 Business plan). If your organization does not subscribe to a Microsoft365 business plan then you do not have access to One Drive for Business from that organization.
Christian Steglich 0 Reputation points

2026-08-27T08:02:54.3733333+00:00

Hi Vincent, thank for the quick reply! Yes, I know that, but the app tells me since short that there is a work account as well. I have two employers, one offers full M365 support, the other has decided to outsource mail & cloudservices to Google. For this latter employer, my work e-mail address is attached to my personal OneDrive account... and since short, the app prohibits me signing in to that because it thinks there is a work account, too. It's a bit tricky.
Vincent Choy 11,260 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-29T01:45:43.3133333+00:00

This is what I would do to test.

Log in to the second employer using either a different browser, or incognito/private browsing mode.

See if that helps.

Answer 3

As reaction to the "AI answer": I have two accounts that work fine: An Employer 1 work account, and Private OneDrive account, linked to my e-mail address at Employer 2. Since a week or so my work PC at Employer 2 does not allow me to synch either of these, instead it claims Employer 2 offers another work account (but we don't let Outlook manage our e-mails), and I cannot even login in the OneDrive App to my personal account any more (see my reaction to JJ Doyon). After re-installing the App, btw, it works once, takes ages to synch, and next time I start the PC it's not possible to synch yet again.