Sign-in & Login Problems

Fix SharePoint Designer 2013 'Your Account Is in a Bad State' Error

Huda Qurayshi Oct 12, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to resolve an authentication error preventing them from signing into SharePoint Designer 2013.

Fix SharePoint Designer 2013 'Your Account Is in a Bad State' Error

Product: SharePoint Designer 2013
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to sign into SharePoint Designer 2013 to access or manage SharePoint sites.
Observed behavior: The application fails to authenticate the user and displays an error message stating that the account is in a bad state.

Before you start

Since this solution requires modifying the Windows Registry, ensure you back up your registry or create a system restore point before proceeding to prevent unintended system issues.

Solution 1Recommended

Update Office Identity Registry Settings

Manually add or update the EnableADAL and Version DWORD values in the Windows Registry to force modern authentication and resolve the sign-in error.

The 'bad state' error is often caused by missing Active Directory Authentication Library (ADAL) configurations in the registry for Office 15.0 installations. Manually adding these keys allows SharePoint Designer to authenticate properly.

Open Registry Editor

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, type 'regedit', and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.

Navigate to the Identity folder

In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\Identity.

Check for existing DWORD values

Look for the values named 'EnableADAL' and 'Version' in the right pane. If they do not exist, right-click an empty space, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and create them with these exact names.

Modify the value data

Double-click both 'EnableADAL' and 'Version', set their Value data to '1', and click OK.

Restart and test

Close the Registry Editor, restart SharePoint Designer 2013, and attempt to sign in to your account again.

Update Office Identity Registry Settings

Tech Community Support: If the issue persists after updating the registry, consider reviewing the related Microsoft Tech Community discussions for further SharePoint Designer 2013 troubleshooting steps.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 'Your account is in a bad state' mean in SharePoint Designer?

This error typically indicates an authentication issue where the software cannot properly validate your credentials using modern authentication protocols, often due to missing registry configurations.

Why do I need to edit the registry to fix this login error?

The registry edit forces SharePoint Designer 2013 to use the Active Directory Authentication Library (ADAL). By manually configuring the EnableADAL and Version keys, you bypass the default legacy authentication methods that trigger the error.

Is SharePoint Designer 2013 still supported?

SharePoint Designer 2013 is an older application. While it may still function with certain environments, Microsoft has discontinued its active development, which is why it often requires manual workarounds for modern authentication compatibility.

Login & Account Issues