Microsoft 365, How do I undo the "Allow my organization to manage my device" setting?
If University security polices are applied to a Windows device, you might see "*Some of these settings are hidden or managed by your organization." in Windows Settings, be required to add or change a login PIN, or face other restrictions. These are the steps to undo this for a personal device. This cannot be done for a computer that was set up by and is managed by the University.
Do not sign in to Windows 10 on a personal device with your University account.
If you have done this, save important files to somewhere not connected to any Microsoft, sign out, and sign back in to Windows with a personal Microsoft account.
This will not keep settings, configurations, and files that are only associated with your University account and only exist on your personal computer, so please make sure that any important data is saved somewhere else before beginning. This is not the case for files stored in OneDrive, which keeps a copy in the cloud.
1. Uninstall Microsoft software
Uninstall Microsoft 365 (the Office suite), as well as OneDrive and Skype For Business if they remain after removing Microsoft 365. These applications' licensing is usually what keeps the security policies in place.
2. Remove University account from Windows
Windows' account system may be remembering your University account.
Go to the Accounts page in Windows Settings (Start menu - gear icon - Accounts).
- In the left menu of the Accounts page, select Email & accounts and look for an @illinois.edu account under the heading Accounts used by email, calendar, and contacts. Click your University account to select it, click the Manage button, then choose Delete account from this device in the window that appears.
- In the left menu of the Accounts page, select Access work or school and look for an @illinois.edu account or a connection to ad.uillinois.edu or another University domain. Click on the University connection to select it, then click the Disconnect button.
3. Remove personal device from University account
The Microsoft account connected to your University NetID may be remembering the personal device that had the security policies applied to it.
- Go to the Microsoft Office web portal at <https://portal.office.com/account/> and sign in with your @illinois.edu account.
- Under the heading Office apps & devices, click the View apps & devices button to see Microsoft software that your account is licensed to use. In the pane labeled Office, click the drop-down menu next to the word DEVICES. Click Sign out next to any computer name you do not recognize, and any computer name that might be your personal PC.
- Fully power off your personal PC, and wait 20 minutes for these changes to be applied.
When you turn on your PC again, use a personal Microsoft account to sign in to Windows.
4. Reinstall Microsoft software (if licensed)
Students and many staff members at the University are granted Office 365 licenses. If you see an orange Install Office button in step 3.b. of the above instructions, you can click it to download a .exe package that will install the Microsoft software your account is licensed for.
During the installation process, you will be asked to sign in with a Microsoft account. You should use your University account here. After this, a screen with the heading Use this account everywhere on your device will be shown.
It is ESSENTIAL that the "Allow my organization to manage my device" box NOT be checked here before you continue. Sign in to 'This app only' if possible.
Leaving this box checked will result in the University's security policies being applied to your device again, and you will need to restart these instructions from the beginning.
