Some Microsoft 365 users reported that they were signed out of Teams and received the error code AADSTS160021. Mostly, the affected users are the ones who use Teams on a browser; however, there have been a few complaints from Teams client app users as well. In this post, we will see what can be done if you get Teams Error AADSTS160021, Application requested a user session which does not exist.
Fix Application requested a user session which does not exist, Teams Error AADSTS160021
If you encounter Teams Error AADSTS160021: Application requested a user session which does not exist, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Refresh Teams web page or Restart Teams app
- Sign in from InPrivate or Incognito Mode
- Clear the browser’s cache
- Clear Teams app Cache
- Remove the Password from the Credential Manager
- Contact your IT admin
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Refresh Teams web page or Restart Teams app
Sometimes, due to inactivity, your browser forces your account to log out. Because of this, Teams fails to find a valid user session. In that case, the best thing you can do is to refresh the web page. It will either reload the page automatically or ask you to enter the credentials. If you are using the Teams app, restarting it is the best equivalent. For that, open Task Manager, right-click on Teams, click on End Task, and finally open the app. Once you do that, your issue should be resolved.
2] Sign in from InPrivate or Incognito Mode
If you cannot sign in from the normal browser mode, try doing the same in Browser InPrivate or InCognito Mode. These modes allow you to open a webpage without using the stored cache. So, in case the cache is corrupted, you will be able to sign in from InPrivate or Incognito Mode.
3] Clear the browser’s cache
In case you are able to log in using the InPrivate or InCognito Mode, it is pretty clear that the stored cache is corrupted. Therefore, clear the cache of Chrome, Edge, or any other browser you use.
4] Clear Teams app Cache
In case you are not using Teams on the browser but are using the Windows app, you need to clear the Teams app’s cache. It is pretty easy to do the same. First of all, close Teams from the Task Manager, open File Explorer, and navigate to the following location.
%appdata%\Microsoft\teams
Clear the content of the following folders. Make sure not to delete the folder – but its content only.
- cache
- blob_storage
- Cache
- databases
- GPUcache
- IndexedDB
- Local Storage
- tmp
If some of the folders are not present, don’t worry; just skip them. Finally, reboot your computer and then open the app.
5] Remove the Password from the Credential Manager
If you encountered error code AADSTS160021 on Teams’ Windows software, you need to clear the credentials from the Credential Manager as they might have been corrupted.
To do the same, open Credential Manager by searching it out from the Start Menu. Go to Windows Credentials, look for Teams from the list, click on the down arrow, and then on Remove. Finally, check if the issue is resolved.
6] Contact your IT admin
If nothing worked, you need to ask your IT admin to resolve the issue. They may have to do something from their end, and your issue will be resolved.
We hope you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Read: Microsoft Teams crashing or freezing during meetings
How do I fix Microsoft Teams error?
There are various Microsoft Teams error codes and messages. However, most of them can be resolved simply by clearing the cache of the browser or Teams app. In case that doesn’t work, check our list of Microsoft Teams Sign-in Error Codes and Problems to resolve the error code that’s appearing on your screen.
Read: Failed to send messages to a Group Chat in Teams
Why can’t I log into my Teams account?
If you can’t log into your Teams account, ensure your credentials are correct. In case your credentials are correct, check if they are corrupted. For that, you need to clear the credentials from the Credentials Manager, as mentioned earlier.
Read Next: How to remove cached Teams Credentials and Account.
