Inviting users without @vt.edu addresses to your SharePoint Online site can occasionally lead to authentication challenges. This guide outlines potential scenarios causing these issues and provides solutions for users to ensure seamless access and authentication.
When users receive an invite at one email address but attempt to authenticate using a different account, an error occurs. This is commonly observed when users have multiple accounts and accidentally use the wrong credentials.
To prevent authentication errors, users should follow these steps:
Log Out: Before accepting the invite, ensure you are logged out of all accounts on the device.
Use the Correct Account: Authenticate using the same email account to which the invite was sent. If the invite was sent to You@abc.com, ensure you use You@abc.com for authentication.
Use Private Browsing: For added security, use a private browsing window, such as InPrivate (Edge Browser) or Incognito (Chrome Browser), to log in with the appropriate account.
SharePoint Online site owners will only see the correct email address in the members list, not details about successful or unsuccessful authentication attempts.
If users are still unable to authenticate, the site owner can attempt to resolve the issue by removing and re-adding the user:
Remove User: The site owner can remove the user who is experiencing authentication issues. Refer to the How to Delete Users from a SharePoint Site Knowledge Base article for step-by-step instructions on removing users.
Re-Invite: After removal, re-send the invitation to the user's correct email address.
Ensuring successful access and authentication for non-@vt.edu email invitations on SharePoint is essential for seamless collaboration. By carefully following the provided steps, users can avoid authentication errors and enjoy a smooth experience when joining SharePoint Online sites.