Excel Power Query Keeps Asking for Organizational Account: Fix

When you refresh a Power Query in Excel, you see a prompt asking you to sign in with an organizational account even though you are already signed into Microsoft 365. This repeated authentication request interrupts your workflow and prevents data from loading automatically. The root cause is typically a credential mismatch, cached token corruption, or a misconfigured data source that does not recognize your current identity. This article explains why Power Query loses track of your organizational account and provides clear steps to resolve the issue permanently.

Why Power Query Repeatedly Asks for Organizational Account Credentials

Power Query stores authentication credentials for each data source connection. When you connect to a service like SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365 Groups, or Azure SQL Database, Excel saves an OAuth token or a cached credential. This token has an expiration time set by the service provider. If the token expires or becomes invalid, Power Query cannot reuse it and prompts you to sign in again.

Several scenarios cause this behavior:

Expired or Revoked OAuth Tokens

Microsoft 365 services issue tokens that last for a specific period. If you change your password, enable multi-factor authentication, or your organization updates its conditional access policies, existing tokens are revoked. Power Query then has no valid token and requests a new sign-in.

Corrupted Credential Cache

Windows stores credentials in the Credential Manager. If the entry for Microsoft Office becomes corrupted due to a Windows update, a profile migration, or a third-party security tool, Power Query cannot read the stored credential. It falls back to prompting the user.

Privacy Level Mismatch

Power Query uses privacy levels to determine how data sources can be combined. If a query combines data from an Organizational source and a Public source, the engine may request re-authentication to confirm the user identity. Setting all relevant sources to the same privacy level often eliminates the prompt.

Steps to Clear and Reconfigure Organizational Account Credentials in Power Query

Follow these steps in order. Test the query refresh after each step to identify the specific cause.

Step 1: Remove Stored Credentials from Power Query Data Source Settings

1. Open the Power Query Editor
   In Excel, go to the Data tab and click the Get Data button. Select Launch Power Query Editor from the menu.
2. Access Data Source Settings
   In the Power Query Editor window, click the File tab, then select Options and Settings and click Data Source Settings.
3. Select the problematic data source
   In the Data Source Settings dialog, find the source that triggers the organizational account prompt. Click on it to highlight it.
4. Edit permissions
   Click the Edit Permissions button. In the Edit Permissions dialog, click the Edit Credentials button.
5. Change authentication method
   In the Credentials dialog, select Organizational account from the dropdown. Click Sign in and enter your Microsoft 365 credentials. Check the box labeled Save this credential if it is available. Click Connect.
6. Clear all cached credentials as a fallback
   If editing does not work, go back to Data Source Settings, select the source, and click Clear Permissions. Confirm the action. Close the dialog and refresh the query. Power Query will prompt you once for credentials. Enter them and check the Save option.

Step 2: Delete Stored Tokens from Windows Credential Manager

1. Open Credential Manager
   Press the Windows key, type Credential Manager, and press Enter. The Credential Manager control panel opens.
2. Switch to Windows Credentials
   Click the Windows Credentials tab. Scroll down to the Generic Credentials section.
3. Find Microsoft Office entries
   Look for entries that contain Microsoft Office, Microsoft AAD, or Microsoft O365 in the name. Common names include MicrosoftOffice16_Data:ADAL:Windows and MicrosoftOffice16_Data:ADAL:Orphaned.
4. Delete the entries
   Click the arrow to expand each entry, then click Remove. Confirm the deletion. Delete all entries related to Microsoft Office and Power Query.
5. Restart Excel
   Close Excel completely. Open Excel again and refresh the Power Query. You will be prompted to sign in once. Enter your organizational account credentials and check the Save option.

Step 3: Set Privacy Levels to Organizational

1. Open Power Query Editor
   Go to Data > Get Data > Launch Power Query Editor.
2. Open query properties
   In the Queries pane on the left, right-click the query that causes the prompt and select Properties.
3. Check the privacy level
   Go to File > Options and Settings > Query Options. Under Current Workbook, select Privacy. Ensure the radio button is set to Combine data according to your Privacy Level settings for each source. Do not select Ignore the Privacy Levels.
4. Set each source to Organizational
   Close the Query Options dialog. In the Data Source Settings dialog, select each source used by the query. Click Edit Permissions. In the Privacy Level dropdown, select Organizational. Click Save.
5. Refresh the query
   Click Close & Load to apply the changes. The next refresh should not ask for credentials again.

If Power Query Still Asks for Credentials After the Main Fix

Power Query Keeps Prompting After Clearing Credentials

If you have cleared credentials in both Power Query and Windows Credential Manager, the issue may be caused by a misconfigured proxy or firewall that blocks the OAuth token refresh. Check with your IT department whether your network requires a specific proxy setting. In Excel, go to File > Options > Advanced. Under the General section, click Web Options. In the Connections tab, set the proxy configuration to match your corporate settings.

Multiple Microsoft 365 Tenants Cause Credential Confusion

If you have accounts in multiple Microsoft 365 tenants, Power Query might try to use the wrong tenant. To fix this, sign out of all Microsoft 365 accounts in Excel. Go to File > Account. Under User Information, click Sign Out. Restart Excel and sign in only with the account that owns the data source. Then refresh the query.

Power Query Prompt Appears on Every Workbook Open

When the prompt appears not just on refresh but every time the workbook is opened, the issue is likely a missing background refresh setting. Go to Data > Queries & Connections. Right-click the query and select Properties. On the Usage tab, uncheck Refresh data when opening the file if you do not need automatic refresh. If you do need it, ensure the credential is saved by following Step 1 again and verifying the Save this credential option was used.

Quick Fix vs Full Credential Reset: Key Differences

Item	Edit Data Source Permissions	Delete Credentials from Windows Credential Manager
Scope	Only the selected Power Query data source	All Microsoft Office and Power Query tokens system-wide
Time required	2–3 minutes	5–10 minutes including restart
Risk of losing other saved credentials	None — affects only one source	High — deletes all Office tokens, may require re-sign-in in other apps
Effectiveness for corrupted tokens	Low — does not remove corrupted cached tokens	High — removes all cached tokens, forcing a clean refresh

Use the Edit Data Source Permissions method first. If the prompt returns within a day, proceed with the Credential Manager deletion.

You can now stop the repeated organizational account prompt in Power Query by clearing credentials in Data Source Settings, removing stale tokens from Windows Credential Manager, and setting all sources to the Organizational privacy level. Start with the quick edit method and escalate to the full credential reset only if the prompt persists. As an advanced tip, you can automate credential clearance using a PowerShell script that deletes the MicrosoftOffice16_Data:ADAL entries, which is useful when deploying the fix to multiple workstations in your organization.