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What happens to my files when I change my current word account to a new one

Arjun Mahal 0 Reputation points
2026-05-08T13:17:19.2766667+00:00

I am having issues with creating a new Word document. I think the reason for this is to do with my current account; it is an old school account that I have continued to use without realising. After recently updating my Mac, it seems that this current account is no longer compatible with the new version of Word. I do have a new university account (which I have tried on a different device and it works), but I am worried that switching to the new account will mean I won't be able to access all the documents I have under my current account. I have saved all of these documents to my Mac, but I am scared to change accounts in case I lose all my work. I just need to speak to someone to confirm that I will be okay to access these files under the new university Word account.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | MacOS
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  1. Vergil-V 13,460 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-08T13:54:23.4166667+00:00

    Hi @Arjun Mahal 
    Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas. 

    Based on your description, since you have backed up your data locally, your Word files should remain available on your device. Changing your account will not affect files stored in local folders. 

    However, if your files are stored in OneDrive or in folders that are synced with OneDrive, access to those files may depend on the account associated with that storage. 

    To confirm, you may want to check the file path to see whether it refers to a local folder or a OneDrive location. 

    For example, as shown in the image below, the first location refers to local storage, while the second indicates OneDrive storage

    image

    Reference: Save a file in Office for Mac - Microsoft Support

    To verify the license associated with the affected account, you can sign in to:  https://portal.office.com/account/?ref=Harmony#subscriptions 

    Then look for any subscriptions related to desktop applications. 

     

    I hope this provides additional clarity. If you have any updates after reviewing this information, please feel free to share them. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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