Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus: General Troubleshooting

Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus is available free of charge to current University of Minnesota students, staff, and faculty.

For installation and activation instructions and troubleshooting resources, refer to:

• Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus: For Faculty, Staff & Students Personally Owned Devices
• Office 365 for Students, Faculty, and Staff: Troubleshoot Installation and Activation

You may encounter error messages or other problems while using Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus with your University of Minnesota license. This article provides information on how to troubleshoot some of the most common Microsoft Office 365 errors. 

In this article:

• Common Errors and Problems
  • "Your Account Doesn't Allow Editing"
  • Unable to Access Microsoft Office 365
  • Unable to Log In Using Your University of Minnesota Password
  • Your Name Appears as "Suppressed Entry"
  • Microsoft 365 Was Not Installed Through a University of Minnesota License
  • Microsoft Office 365 Crashed and Files Were Lost
• General Troubleshooting
  • Locating Version Information
• OneNote for Windows 10 and OneDrive
• Additional Resources

Common Errors and Problems

"Your Account Doesn't Allow Editing"

Note: There may be variations of this error message.

Resolving Activation Errors

It is possible that your Microsoft Office 365 license isn't activated.

1. Look for a link or button that says Use another account or Sign in to activate (or a similar message). 
2. Sign in using your University of Minnesota email address.
3. Sign out from Microsoft Office 365. 
4. Sign in again.

Changing Your Default File Save Location 

Microsoft Office 365 may also be using OneDrive as the default file save location. OneDrive is not available for University of Minnesota accounts. Try saving your file to your local drive instead.

1. Open a new document.
2. Select the File tab, then select Options on the bottom left corner.
3. Choose Save in the pop-up window.
4. Uncheck the box that says AutoSave OneDrive and SharePoint Online files by default on Word.
5. Check Save to Computer by default.
6. When finished, select OK.
7. Close Microsoft Office 365. Restarting the application is necessary for changes to take effect.
8. Save your file to your local drive. 

Unable to Access Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 is only available to the following groups of individuals:

• Current students
  • You must be registered for at least one credit in the current term at the University of Minnesota.
  • Microsoft Office 365 is only available to active students. In order to retain "active" status, students must register for courses during each spring and fall term.
  • New students do not have access to Microsoft Office 365 until 48 hours after they complete registration. 
• Current staff and faculty
  • If you are a current student or staff/faculty member and you are not able to access Microsoft Office 365, refer to the Office 365 Service Request Form.

Office 365 is not available to alumni, Emeritus Faculty, other retired faculty or staff, contract employees, or temporary staff. Refer to the Account Termination Reference Guide for more information about access to University of Minnesota technology resources.

Unable to Log In Using Your University of Minnesota Password

Some characters that are valid for the University of Minnesota login system may not be valid for Microsoft's login system. If these characters (often special characters or specific combinations of special characters) are included in your password, you may have difficulty logging in. 

To resolve this error, reset your University of Minnesota password.

• Make sure that your new password satisfies both University of Minnesota password requirements and Microsoft password requirements.
• Avoid using multiple symbols one after the other (such as '!!' or '@&$').

Your Name Appears as "Suppressed Entry"

The privacy settings for your University directory information may impact how your name appears in Microsoft Office 365. You may see your name listed as Suppressed entry.

To allow your name to populate (instead of Suppressed entry), you must modify your University directory suppression settings. Refer to the following resources:

• Instructions on how to update your directory suppression settings can be found in Student Records Privacy and Access on the One Stop website.
• Refer to Accounts: Understand User Information Suppression Settings and Impact to learn how your directory suppression settings may impact your experience with University technology resources.

Microsoft 365 Was Not Installed Through a University of Minnesota License

Microsoft Office 365 offers a free trial. If you receive any messages about signing up for a trial or subscribing after your trial has ended, it is possible your University of Minnesota license was not activated.

To resolve free trial and/or subscription sign-up prompt errors, activate your University of Minnesota license for Microsoft Office 365.

Refer to the following resources for instructions and more information:

• Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus: For Faculty, Staff & Students Personally Owned Devices
• Students, Faculty, and Staff: Troubleshoot Installation and Activation

Microsoft Office 365 Crashed and Files Were Lost

Check if AutoRecover is on. Refer to Help protect your files in case of a crash.

If you need AutoSave, collaboration features, and online saving, consider if Google Workspace would meet your needs better than Microsoft Office 365.

General Troubleshooting

Many errors can be resolved by simply signing out of Microsoft Office 365 and signing back in. 

1. Close all Microsoft Office 365 applications and files.
2. Try to start one of the Microsoft Office 365 applications, like Word.
3. If the application starts but shows an error or is view-only, sign out.
   • For Windows:
     1. Select File.
     2. Select Account.
     3. Select Sign out.
   • For Mac: 
     1. Find the application menu at the top of the screen.
     2. Select the application name.
     3. Select Sign out.
   • Refer to Sign Out of Office for more information.
4. Close the application.
5. Restart the application.
6. Click the Sign in button or link.
7. Use your full University of Minnesota email address to sign in.
8. if prompted, select Work or school account.
9. Log in via University of Minnesota SSO.
   • Use your University of Minnesota internet ID and password.
   • You will be prompted to authenticate with Duo Security.

Locating Version Information

Microsoft Office 365 version information can be useful for general troubleshooting.

1. From Word:
   1. Click File.
   2. Select Account. 
   3. Select About Word.
2. From Excel:
   1. Click File.
   2. Select Account.
   3. Select About Excel.

OneNote for Windows 10 and OneDrive

OneNote for Windows 10 requires the use of OneDrive. The OneNote desktop app is the only version of OneNote that does not require OneDrive. 

Errors may occur if OneNote for Windows 10 is in use, as the University does not support OneDrive under its Microsoft Office 365 license.

For more information, refer to What's the difference between the OneNote versions?

Additional Resources

• University of Minnesota Microsoft Office Resource page
• Office 365 FAQs

If you require any additional assistance troubleshooting problems with Microsoft Office 365, contact Technology Help.