After you change your Microsoft 365 password, the Teams desktop app may stay on the loading screen, showing a spinning circle or a blank window. This happens because Teams caches your old credentials and cannot refresh them automatically. The app tries to reuse the expired token, fails, and then never recovers without user intervention. This article explains why the cache goes stale and shows you the exact steps to clear it and sign in again.
You will also learn how to avoid this problem in the future by using the correct sign-out method and by enabling single sign-on in your organization. The fixes below work on Windows 11 and Windows 10 for both the classic Teams and the new Teams app.
Key Takeaways: Clearing Teams Credential Cache After a Password Change
- Teams app > Settings > Accounts > Sign out: Signs out completely so the cached token is discarded before you sign in again.
- Windows Credential Manager > Generic Credentials: Lets you remove the stored Teams and Microsoft 365 credentials that keep the app stuck on loading.
- AppData\Local\Packages\MSTeams (new Teams) or AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams (classic): Clearing these folders removes the cached user profile that prevents a clean sign-in.
Why the Teams Desktop App Stays on Loading After a Password Change
Teams uses a token-based authentication system. When you sign in, the Microsoft 365 identity service issues an access token and a refresh token. The refresh token is stored locally in a secure cache. When the token expires, Teams tries to use the refresh token to get a new access token. If you change your password, the refresh token becomes invalid. Teams then fails silently and remains on the loading screen instead of showing a sign-in prompt.
The problem is made worse because Teams caches more than just the token. It also stores your profile data, chat history, and settings in local folders. When the sign-in process fails, the app does not clean up these folders. On the next launch, it reads the stale cache, tries to authenticate with the invalid token, and gets stuck again.
There are two versions of the Teams desktop app, and each stores its cache in a different location. The classic Teams app uses the folder %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams. The new Teams app, which is the default in most organizations, uses a Windows package folder under %LocalAppData%\Packages\MSTeams. You need to know which version you have because the clearing steps differ.
How to Identify Which Teams Version You Have
Open Teams and look at the top-right corner of the window. If you see a profile picture and a three-dot menu directly below it, you are using the new Teams. The classic Teams shows a long title bar with the app name and a separate menu bar. You can also check in Teams > Settings > About, where the version number appears. New Teams versions start with a number like 24000 or higher, while classic versions start with 1.6 or lower.
Steps to Fix Teams Stuck on Loading After a Password Change
Follow these steps in order. Start with the simplest fix and move to the more thorough cache clear only if needed.
Method 1: Sign Out and Sign In Again
- Open Teams and go to Settings
Click your profile picture in the top-right corner, then select Settings. In the Settings window, go to Accounts. - Sign out of your account
Under the account you are using, click Sign out. Wait for the sign-out to complete. Do not close the window during this process. - Close Teams completely
Right-click the Teams icon in the system tray and choose Quit. If you do not see the icon, press Ctrl+Shift+Escape to open Task Manager, find Teams in the Processes list, and click End task. - Relaunch Teams and sign in
Open Teams again. You should see the sign-in screen. Enter your new password. If the app still shows loading, proceed to Method 2.
Method 2: Clear the Credential Manager Entries
- Open Windows Credential Manager
Press the Windows key, type Credential Manager, and press Enter. In the Credential Manager window, click Windows Credentials. - Find Teams and Microsoft 365 entries
Scroll through the Generic Credentials list. Look for entries that start with Teams, Microsoft Teams, or MSTeams. Also look for entries named MicrosoftOffice16_Data or Microsoft AAD. - Remove the cached credentials
Click the arrow next to each entry to expand it, then click Remove. Confirm the deletion. Repeat for every entry that relates to Teams or Microsoft 365. - Restart Teams
Close Teams as described in Method 1, then open it again. Sign in with your new password.
Method 3: Clear the Teams Cache Folders
- Close Teams and all related processes
Use Task Manager to end every process named Teams, TeamsUpdater, and ms-teams. Some processes restart automatically, so check again after 10 seconds. - Open the Run dialog
Press the Windows key plus R. Type %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams and press Enter. This opens the classic Teams cache folder. - Delete the contents of the folder
Select all files and folders inside, then press Shift+Delete to permanently remove them. Do not delete the folder itself, only its contents. - Clear the new Teams cache
Press the Windows key plus R again. Type %LocalAppData%\Packages\MSTeams and press Enter. Delete the contents of the LocalCache and LocalState subfolders. If you do not see these subfolders, delete the entire MSTeams folder. - Restart Teams
Open Teams. It will rebuild the cache and prompt you to sign in. Enter your new password.
If Teams Still Has Issues After the Main Fix
Teams Shows a Blank Window After Clearing the Cache
If the app opens but shows a white or gray window, the cache was cleared while Teams was still running in the background. Close Teams completely, then delete the cache folders again. After that, restart the app. If the blank window persists, restart your computer and try again.
Teams Keeps Asking for the Old Password
This happens when the Credential Manager still holds an old entry. Go back to Credential Manager and remove every entry that contains the words Teams, Microsoft, or Office. Then restart Teams. If the prompt still appears, use the Windows Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts page to disconnect the work account and reconnect it.
Other Microsoft 365 Apps Also Fail to Connect
When a password changes, other apps like Outlook, OneDrive, and Word can also get stuck. The same Credential Manager entries affect them. Clear all Microsoft-related entries, then open each app and sign in again. For Outlook, you may also need to remove and re-add your account in File > Account Settings.
Classic Teams vs New Teams: Cache and Sign-in Behavior
| Item | Classic Teams (version 1.x) | New Teams (version 2.x) |
|---|---|---|
| Cache location | %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams | %LocalAppData%\Packages\MSTeams |
| Sign-out method | Profile picture > Settings > Accounts > Sign out | Profile picture > Settings > Accounts > Sign out |
| Credential manager entries | Microsoft Teams and Microsoft AAD | MSTeams and Microsoft AAD |
| Recovery after password change | Usually needs cache clear | Usually needs cache clear |
Conclusion
Now you can clear the Teams credential cache and sign in with your new Microsoft 365 password. Start with the sign-out method, then use Credential Manager, and finally delete the cache folders if needed. To avoid this problem in the future, always sign out of Teams before changing your password. Also enable single sign-on in the Teams admin center under Org-wide settings, which lets Teams refresh tokens without re-entering your password. If the issue returns, check the Teams admin center > Users > Sign-in logs to see the exact error code.