OneDrive for Business Windows startup uses the wrong account for shared devices: Fix Guide

When you sign in to a shared Windows 10 or Windows 11 device, OneDrive for Business sometimes starts automatically with the previous user’s Microsoft 365 account instead of your own. This happens because OneDrive caches account credentials and auto-start settings per machine rather than per user session. This guide explains why the wrong account appears at startup and provides step-by-step fixes to ensure OneDrive always launches with the correct account on shared computers.

Why OneDrive Starts With the Wrong Account on Shared Windows Devices

OneDrive for Business stores account credentials in the Windows Credential Manager and in its own registry keys under each user profile. When a shared device is used by multiple people, OneDrive does not automatically detect that a new user has signed in. Instead, it reads the cached credentials from the last session and attempts to start with that account. This behavior is by design for single-user environments, but on shared workstations, it causes confusion and file-access errors.

The core cause is that OneDrive’s auto-start mechanism runs from the current user’s startup folder, but the account token remains tied to the previous user’s Windows session until the new user explicitly signs out of OneDrive. If the previous user selected “Remember me” during sign-in, the token persists across sign-ins for the same Windows user account. On shared devices where each person has a separate Windows account, the issue is less frequent. However, when multiple users share the same Windows account or when Fast User Switching is used, the cached account from the prior session takes over.

Steps to Fix OneDrive Launching With the Wrong Account

Method 1: Unlink OneDrive From the Current User Account

This method forces OneDrive to discard the cached account and prompt for a new sign-in on next startup.

1. Open OneDrive Settings
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray notification area and select Settings. If the icon is hidden, click the upward arrow (Show hidden icons) and find the OneDrive icon.
2. Go to the Account tab
   In the OneDrive settings window, click the Account tab at the top. You will see the currently signed-in account’s email address and storage details.
3. Click Unlink this PC
   Under the account information, click Unlink this PC. A confirmation dialog appears. Click Unlink account to confirm. OneDrive stops syncing and closes.
4. Restart OneDrive
   Open the Start menu, type OneDrive, and press Enter. The OneDrive setup window appears. Sign in with your own work or school account. OneDrive will now start with your account on subsequent logins.

Method 2: Disable OneDrive Auto-Start Using Group Policy

For IT-managed shared devices, Group Policy can prevent OneDrive from auto-starting or restrict it to specific users. This method requires administrative rights.

1. Open Local Group Policy Editor
   Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. If gpedit.msc is not available, your Windows edition may not include Group Policy; use the Registry method instead.
2. Navigate to OneDrive policies
   Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive. If you do not see a OneDrive folder, download and install the OneDrive Group Policy Administrative Templates from Microsoft.
3. Enable “Prevent OneDrive from running when the user signs in”
   Double-click Prevent OneDrive from running when the user signs in. Select Enabled, then click OK. This stops OneDrive from starting automatically for all users on the device.
4. Optional: Set a specific OneDrive account
   In the same policy folder, double-click Set the default location for the OneDrive folder and enter the tenant-specific path if needed. This does not set the sign-in account but controls where files sync.
5. Apply the policy
   Close Group Policy Editor and run gpupdate /force in an elevated Command Prompt. Restart the device. Each user must now manually start OneDrive and sign in with their own account.

Method 3: Clear Cached OneDrive Credentials From Credential Manager

If unlinking does not resolve the issue, stale credentials in Windows Credential Manager may be the cause.

1. Open Credential Manager
   Press Win + R, type control, and press Enter. In Control Panel, set View by to Large icons, then click Credential Manager.
2. Select Windows Credentials
   Click Windows Credentials. Scroll down to the Generic credentials section.
3. Remove OneDrive-related entries
   Look for entries that contain OneDrive or MicrosoftOffice in their names. Click the arrow to expand each entry, then click Remove. Confirm the deletion. Repeat for all OneDrive-related credentials.
4. Restart OneDrive
   Close Credential Manager, open OneDrive from the Start menu, and sign in with your own work or school account.

If OneDrive Still Has Issues After the Main Fix

OneDrive Shows “Another account is already signed in”

This error appears when OneDrive detects a cached token from a previous user. The fix is to unlink the PC as described in Method 1, then clear the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1 using Regedit. After deleting the key, restart OneDrive and sign in with your account.

OneDrive does not start at all after unlinking

If OneDrive fails to launch after unlinking, the startup shortcut may be missing. Go to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and create a shortcut to C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\OneDrive.exe. Alternatively, run the OneDrive setup again from the Start menu.

Wrong account persists after clearing credentials

If the previous user’s account still appears, the issue may be that OneDrive is configured to sync with a shared Microsoft 365 tenant that uses automatic account detection. In this case, an IT administrator must set a tenant-specific policy to disable automatic sign-in. The policy is Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive > Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials. Set this policy to Disabled.

Unlink vs Disable Auto-Start vs Clear Credentials: Key Differences

Item	Unlink this PC	Disable Auto-Start via Group Policy	Clear Credentials via Credential Manager
Purpose	Remove current account association	Prevent OneDrive from starting automatically	Delete stored login tokens
Scope	Current user only	All users on the device	Current user only
Effect on next startup	Prompts for account selection	OneDrive does not start unless launched manually	OneDrive uses default account unless also unlinked
Requires admin rights	No	Yes	No
Persistence	Until next unlink or account change	Until policy is reverted	Until new credentials are saved

Now you can ensure OneDrive for Business always starts with your account on shared Windows devices. First, unlink the PC and clear cached credentials. If the problem continues, ask your IT admin to apply the Group Policy that disables silent sign-in. As an advanced tip, you can run OneDrive.exe /background from a command prompt to force a fresh sign-in without restarting Windows.