Fix Word Co-Author Comments Showing Wrong Avatar After Profile Picture Update

You updated your Microsoft 365 profile picture, but Word still shows your old avatar or a generic silhouette in co-author comments and @mentions. This happens because Word caches the profile image locally and does not refresh it automatically when the server-side picture changes. This article explains why the wrong avatar persists and provides multiple methods to force Word to display your current profile picture in shared documents.

Why Word Shows the Wrong Avatar After You Change Your Profile Picture

When you change your Microsoft 365 profile picture at account.microsoft.com/profile, the new image is stored on Microsoft servers. Word, however, does not check the server every time you open a co-authored document. Instead, it relies on a local cache of the profile picture to reduce network requests and improve performance.

This local cache lives in the Windows user profile folders under %appdata%\Microsoft\Office. The cached avatar is a small JPG or PNG file named after your user ID. Word reads this cached file every time it displays the avatar next to a comment, suggestion, or @mention. Because the cache is not automatically invalidated when the server picture changes, the old avatar persists until the cache is manually cleared.

A second cause involves the Office Credential Manager in Windows. If your authentication token references an older session that still maps to the old profile picture, Word may continue to serve the stale image even after the cache is cleared. In that case, removing and re-entering the credentials resolves the mismatch.

Steps to Force Word to Display Your Updated Profile Picture

Follow the methods below in order. Each builds on the previous one. After each method, close all Word documents, restart Word, and check a co-authored document to see if the avatar updated.

Method 1: Sign Out of Microsoft 365 and Sign Back In

1. Open Word and go to File > Account
   In the Account pane, look for the User Information section. Your current profile picture and name appear here.
2. Click Sign Out
   A confirmation dialog appears. Select Sign Out again to disconnect your Microsoft 365 account from Word.
3. Close Word completely
   Make sure no Word processes remain running. Check the system tray and Task Manager if needed.
4. Reopen Word and click Sign In
   Enter the same Microsoft 365 account credentials you used to change the profile picture. Word downloads the current profile data, including the new avatar.
5. Open a co-authored document and inspect a comment
   Hover over or click an existing comment to see the avatar. It should now match your updated profile picture.

If the avatar still shows the old image, proceed to Method 2.

Method 2: Delete the Office User Profile Cache Folder

1. Close all Office applications
   Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Office programs must be closed. Use Task Manager to confirm no Office processes are running.
2. Press Windows key + R, type %appdata%\Microsoft\Office, and press Enter
   File Explorer opens the Office folder under your AppData\Roaming directory. This folder contains subfolders for cached data.
3. Locate the subfolder named 16.0 (or 15.0 for older Office versions)
   The exact version number depends on your Office release. Most current installations use 16.0.
4. Open the 16.0 folder, then open the UserProfiles folder
   Inside UserProfiles, you will see one or more folders with long alphanumeric names. Each corresponds to a Microsoft 365 account that has signed in on this computer.
5. Open the folder that matches your account
   If you have only one Microsoft 365 account, there will be a single folder. Open it.
6. Delete the file named UserPhoto.jpg or UserPhoto.png
   This is the cached avatar file. Right-click it and select Delete. If you see multiple image files with similar names, delete them all.
7. Restart Word and open a co-authored document
   Word cannot find the cached avatar, so it fetches the current picture from the server. The comment avatars should update.

If the wrong avatar still appears, continue to Method 3.

Method 3: Clear and Re-enter Office Credentials in Windows Credential Manager

1. Open the Windows Control Panel
   Press Windows key + R, type control, and press Enter. Switch to Large icons view if needed.
2. Click Credential Manager
   In the Credential Manager window, select Windows Credentials (not Web Credentials).
3. Scroll down to the Generic Credentials section
   Look for entries that start with MicrosoftOffice or Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin. These store your Office authentication tokens.
4. Expand each matching entry and click Remove
   Confirm the removal when prompted. Remove all entries that reference your Microsoft 365 account.
5. Restart Word and sign in again
   Word prompts you to re-enter your credentials. After signing in, the authentication token is recreated, and Word fetches the current profile picture from the server.
6. Check the avatar in a co-authored document
   The avatar should now match your updated profile picture.

If Word Still Shows the Wrong Avatar After All Methods

Avatar does not update for other co-authors

Other co-authors may also see the old avatar because they have their own local cache of your picture. Each collaborator must clear their own Office cache or sign out and sign back in. There is no server-side push that forces all clients to refresh your avatar immediately.

@mentions still show the old picture

@mention avatars are cached in the same UserPhoto.jpg file. If you cleared the cache but the @mention avatar remains unchanged, the document may have been opened from a cached copy. Close the document, reopen it from the original location (OneDrive or SharePoint), and allow it to sync fully before checking.

Avatar appears as a generic silhouette after clearing the cache

A generic silhouette means Word cannot retrieve the profile picture from the server. Verify that your profile picture is correctly set at account.microsoft.com/profile. Wait 15–30 minutes for the change to propagate across Microsoft servers, then repeat Method 1 or Method 2.

When the Avatar Cache Resets Automatically vs Manually

Item	Automatic Refresh	Manual Refresh (Methods Above)
Trigger	Word downloads a new avatar only when the cached file is missing or corrupt	User signs out, deletes cache folder, or removes credentials
Frequency	Never on its own after a profile picture change	On demand after each manual action
Effect on other Office apps	Outlook and Teams also use the same cached avatar file	Clearing the cache updates the avatar in all Office apps simultaneously
Risk of data loss	None	None — only cached image files are removed, not documents

You can now force Word to display your updated profile picture in co-author comments and @mentions. Start with signing out and signing back in, as it is the quickest method. If that fails, delete the cached avatar file manually. For persistent issues, clear the Office credentials in Windows Credential Manager. As an advanced tip, you can create a batch script that deletes the UserPhoto.jpg file and restarts Word, saving time when you need to refresh avatars for multiple users on a shared machine.