Clearing Saved Microsoft Account Information at the Sign-In Page (All Platforms)

Summary

If your browser or device is automatically signing you in with the wrong Microsoft account, your device may have saved an older account from a previous sign-in. This article explains how to remove saved Microsoft account information on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and the major web browsers.

Body

If your browser or device automatically signs you in with the wrong Microsoft account after the University of Maine System's recent sign-in update, your device may have saved an older account from a previous sign-in. This article explains how to remove that saved account information on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and the major web browsers.

Detailed Information

INFO: The fastest fix is often at the sign-in page itself. On the login.microsoftonline.com account picker, click Use another account, then look for a Forget link or trash icon next to any saved account. This removes the entry from the account picker without changing anything else.

Saved Microsoft account information can live in several places: browser cookies, your operating system's credential storage, device-linked accounts, and Microsoft mobile apps. Start with the quick check below to narrow down where the saved account is coming from, then follow the steps for your device.

Quick check

  1. Open a private browsing window (InPrivate, Incognito, or Private) and navigate to a University sign-in page or protected resource.
  2. If sign-in works correctly in the private window, the saved account is in your browser or operating system (OS) — follow the steps below for your platform.
  3. If the wrong account still appears in private browsing, the saved account is at the OS level (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain, or a device-linked account) rather than in the browser.
WARNING: You do not need to remove all of your Microsoft accounts — only accounts you no longer use. You can have multiple Microsoft accounts and sign in to any of them as needed.

Windows

Removing saved work or school accounts:

Only follow these steps for an account you no longer use.

  1. Open Settings → Accounts → Access work or school.
  2. Select any account that belongs to another organization or is no longer needed.
  3. Click Disconnect and confirm the removal.

Clearing stored credentials in Credential Manager:

  1. Open Control Panel → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials.
  2. Look for entries containing MicrosoftAccount, MicrosoftOffice, msteams, or microsoftonline.
  3. Expand each entry and click Remove.

Removing OS-level Microsoft accounts:

Only follow these steps for an account you no longer use.

  1. Open Settings → Accounts → Email & accounts.
  2. Remove any unwanted accounts listed under Accounts used by other apps.

Clearing Microsoft Edge saved accounts:

  1. Open Edge and go to Settings → Profiles.
  2. Sign out of any profile tied to the old account, or remove the profile entirely.
  3. Navigate to edge://settings/clearBrowserData.
  4. Select Cookies and other site data with the time range set to All time and click Clear now.

macOS

WARNING: Removing Keychain entries will also sign you out of Microsoft 365 desktop apps (Outlook, Word, Teams, etc.). You will need to sign back in to those apps with your University account afterward.

Removing Microsoft entries from Keychain:

  1. Open Keychain Access (Spotlight: ⌘+Space, then type "Keychain").
  2. In the search bar, type microsoft.
  3. Delete entries for MicrosoftOffice, Microsoft Office Identities Cache, Microsoft Office Identities Settings, adalcache, and anything referencing login.microsoftonline.com.
  4. Repeat the search with the term office and remove related items.

Signing out of Company Portal:

  • If Intune Company Portal is installed, open it, sign out, and quit the app.

iOS and iPadOS

Microsoft Authenticator:

Only remove an account if you no longer use it — Microsoft Authenticator can store multiple accounts, including personal ones.

  1. Open Microsoft Authenticator.
  2. Tap the account in question, then tap the gear icon to open Settings.
  3. Remove the account if it is not your University of Maine System account.

Safari (full reset):

  • Open Settings → Apps → Safari → Clear History and Website Data.

Safari (targeted):

  1. Open Settings → Apps → Safari → Advanced → Website Data.
  2. Search for microsoft.
  3. Swipe left to delete entries for login.microsoftonline.com, login.live.com, and microsoft.com.

Microsoft apps (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive):

Only remove an account if you no longer use it on this device. Signing out is enough if you just need to switch to your University account.

  • Open the app and tap your account or profile picture.
  • Sign out, or remove the account from the account list.
  • If the app remains stuck on the old account, delete and reinstall the app.

Saved passwords:

  1. Open Settings → Passwords.
  2. Search for microsoft and delete saved credentials tied to old accounts.

Android

Removing the device-level account:

Only follow these steps for an account you no longer use.

  1. Open Settings → Passwords & accounts (or Accounts, depending on your device).
  2. Tap any Work account or Microsoft-related entry.
  3. Tap Remove account.

Microsoft Authenticator:

Only remove an account if you no longer use it — Microsoft Authenticator can store multiple accounts, including personal ones.

  1. Open Microsoft Authenticator.
  2. Tap the old account, then the gear icon.
  3. Tap Remove account.

Chrome (full reset):

  1. Open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu → Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data.
  2. Choose All time and check Cookies and site data.

Chrome (targeted):

  1. Open Chrome Settings → Site settings → All sites.
  2. Search for microsoft.
  3. Clear data for login.microsoftonline.com and login.live.com.

Microsoft apps:

Only remove an account if you no longer use it on this device. Signing out is enough if you just need to switch to your University account.

  • In each Microsoft app (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive), tap your profile picture and sign out or remove the account.
  • If the app stays stuck on the wrong account, go to Settings → Apps → select the app → Storage → Clear storage.

Browser-only cleanup (any platform)

If the saved account only appears in a specific browser, clearing cookies for the Microsoft sign-in sites is usually enough. The relevant sites are:

  • login.microsoftonline.com
  • login.live.com
  • login.microsoft.com
  • account.microsoft.com
  • aadcdn.msauth.net

Chrome and Edge:

  1. Navigate to chrome://settings/cookies or edge://settings/cookies.
  2. Click See all cookies and site data.
  3. Search for microsoft and delete each matching entry.

Firefox:

  1. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.
  2. Click Manage Data.
  3. Search for microsoft and click Remove Selected.

Safari (macOS):

  1. Open Safari → Settings → Privacy.
  2. Click Manage Website Data.
  3. Search for microsoft and click Remove for each entry.

Common issues

What you're seeing What to try
Account picker still shows old accounts after clearing cookies Check whether you are signed into a browser profile (Chrome, Edge, or Firefox) tied to the old account — sign out of the profile or remove it. On Windows, also check Access work or school and Credential Manager. On macOS, check Keychain for adalcache or MicrosoftOffice entries. Steps for both are above.
Sign-in works in private browsing but not in regular browsing This confirms the saved account is stored in your browser. Re-run the browser cookie cleanup steps above for the Microsoft sign-in sites. Also check whether a browser extension (such as a password manager) is automatically filling in old credentials.
Wrong account appears in Outlook, Teams, or OneDrive desktop apps Sign out from inside the app first. On Windows, also remove related entries from Credential Manager. On macOS, remove related entries from Keychain. Then relaunch the app and sign in with your University account. Steps for both are above.
Your personal Microsoft account keeps appearing even after cleanup On Windows, go to Settings → Accounts → Your info to check whether your device is signed in with a personal Microsoft account at the OS level. If it is, switch to a local account before trying again.

If you have tried the steps above and are still unable to sign in, contact the IT Service Desk for assistance.

Additional resources

Environment

  • Microsoft Entra
  • Windows 10, Windows 11
  • macOS
  • iOS, iPadOS
  • Android
  • Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari
  • Microsoft Authenticator

 

Details

Details

Article ID: 174287
Created
Wed 5/20/26 5:43 PM
Modified
Thu 5/28/26 1:12 PM
Applies To
Students
Faculty
Staff