Immediate Fix
If Microsoft Word is repeatedly asking for your password or showing a “Credentials Not Working” error, the fastest solution is to clear the Windows Credential Manager. This forces Word to generate a fresh, secure login token.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Close all Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel). |
| 2 | Open the Control Panel and navigate to User Accounts. |
| 3 | Click on Credential Manager and select Windows Credentials. |
| 4 | Find all entries starting with MicrosoftOffice16_Data:ADAL or mso_admed. |
| 5 | Click the dropdown arrow and select Remove. Restart Word. |
Technical Explanation
The “Credentials Not Working” error typically occurs when there is a mismatch between the cached OAuth 2.0 token stored in your local Windows Vault and the Azure Active Directory (MSAL) authentication state. This is common after a password change or a sync interruption.
In many cases, the Office Identity subkeys in the Registry become corrupted. You can verify your current device registration and account state by running the following command in a terminal to see if your “Workplace Join” is intact:
dsregcmd /statusWhen you delete the credentials, Windows is forced to re-authenticate the hardware ID with the Microsoft 365 licensing service, creating a new secure handshake.
Alternative Methods
Method 1: Disconnect and Reconnect Work/School Account
Sometimes the conflict exists at the Windows OS level rather than the application level. Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school. Locate your account, select Disconnect, and then re-add it. This refreshes the global authentication token used by Word.
Method 2: Reset Office Identity via Registry
If the Credential Manager fix fails, you may need to clear the Identity folder in the Registry. Navigate to the following path and delete the “Identity” folder (ensure you back up your Registry first):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\IdentityMethod 3: Run the SaRA Tool
Microsoft provides the “Support and Recovery Assistant” (SaRA). This tool automates the troubleshooting process for sign-in issues. Download it from the official Microsoft site, select “Office,” and choose the option “I’ve installed Office, but I can’t sign in.”