If you can’t link your GitHub or Google account with a Microsoft account (MSA), this post explains how to do it and offers troubleshooting tips if you run into problems. When you sign in with GitHub, Microsoft checks to see if the email addresses associated with your GitHub account match an existing personal or corporate Microsoft account. If the address matches your corporate account, you will be prompted to log in to that account instead. If the address corresponds to a personal account, Microsoft adds your GitHub account as a method of connection to this personal account.
When you sign up for a new personal Microsoft service with an @ gmail.com email address, Microsoft gives you the option to use your Google Account credentials to create your Microsoft account. You’ll get all the account and security features from Microsoft, with the ease of using a username and password that you already use.
If you already have an existing Microsoft account, when you enter your account username (email address, phone number or Skype alias), your identification options are displayed (from the Authenticator application to the word your Microsoft account password). At this time, you cannot add Google as an identifier to your existing account.
How to link GitHub or a Google account to a Microsoft account
Here are some common sign-in issues that may appear after linking your GitHub or Google account and your Microsoft accounts – and troubleshooting, as recommended by Microsoft, you can try to resolve the issues.
1]You forgot your GitHub account or Google account password.
You can recover your GitHub account via this GitHub page and you can recover your Google account via this Google page. Or, you can recover your Microsoft account linked to Google or GitHub by entering the email address of your Google or GitHub account at this Microsoft page.
2]You cannot log into Google or you see an error page with a 500.
If Google or Gmail is not available, it means you might see an error page on accounts.google.com when you try to connect. If this happens, you can use the account recovery option to add a password to your Microsoft account so that you are not prompted to sign in to Google automatically. Failures rarely last very long, so you can try again in 15 to 30 minutes to see if the problem has been resolved.
3]You have deleted your GitHub or Google account. How do you access your Microsoft account now?
If you do not have any other identifying information on your Microsoft account (such as a password, an Authenticator application, or a security key), you can recover your Microsoft account by go here and using the email address attached to it.
4]There is no “Connect with GitHub” or “Connect with Google” button on the login page. How do you connect?
Enter the email address of the GitHub or Google account you chose when creating your Microsoft account linked to Google or GitHub. Or, if there is a connection options link on the connection page, use the Connect with GitHub or Google button that appears after clicking on that link.
5]You cannot log in with your GitHub or Google account in a particular product or application.
Not all Microsoft products can access GitHub.com and Google.com from their login page, for example, Windows PCs during setup or Xbox 360 consoles. Instead, when you type the email address of your linked GitHub or Google account, you will receive a code to this address to verify that it is you. You always connect to the same account, only by a different connection method.
6]You have added a password to your Microsoft account linked to Google or GitHub. Will this cause a problem?
Not at all. It doesn’t change your Google or GitHub password; you will just have another way to log into your Microsoft account. Each time you log in using your email address, you will have the choice of logging in with your Microsoft account password or going to Google or GitHub, as appropriate, to log in. Microsoft recommends that if you need to add a password, make sure it is different from your Google or GitHub account password.
Some additional troubleshooting scenarios are:
1]You want to add the Authenticator app to the account you created using Google.
Fair download it Authenticator app and log in using your email address. When you log in with your email address, you will be prompted to choose the app or Google as the identifier.
2]You have enabled two-step verification on your Google and Microsoft accounts.
Due to security restrictions, Microsoft regards logging in to Google as a single factor verification, even if two-step verification is enabled there. Therefore, you will need to authenticate again for your Microsoft account.
3]You don’t remember if your account is linked to Google.
Each time you log in using your account alias (email address, phone number, Skype name), we will show you all the login methods for your account. If you don’t see Google there, you haven’t set it up yet.
4]You want to unlink your Google account from your Microsoft account.
Go to Security tab from your Microsoft account and click More security options > Manage your connection to Microsoft to unlink your Google Account. Unlinking your Google Account removes it as a connection method.
Let us know in the comments section below any other issues you may have encountered while linking your GitHub or Google account with MSA!