"Invalid provider specified" when using an Office 2016 application to access Microsoft 365 resources

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Office Professional Plus 2016, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, Office Standard 2016, Microsoft 365 Family, Microsoft 365 Personal, Microsoft 365 Apps, Access 2016, Excel 2016, OneNote 2016, Outlook 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Project Standard 2016, Microsoft Publisher 2016, Visio Professional 2016, Visio Standard 2016, Word 2016

PROBLEM

Consider the following scenario:

  • You're running one of the following Office 2016 applications as an administrator in Windows 10:

    • Access 2016
    • Excel 2016
    • Outlook 2016
    • PowerPoint 2016
    • Project 2016
    • Publisher 2016
    • Visio Professional 2016
    • Visio Standard 2016
    • Word 2016

  • You try to use one of these applications to access Microsoft 365 resources such as SharePoint Online or Exchange Online.

  • After you enter your Microsoft 365 account information, you receive the following error message:

    Invalid provider specified.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, don't run Office 2016 as an administrator in Windows 10.

STATUS

This is a known issue. We're working to address this issue and will post more information in this article when it becomes available.

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.