"Background task activation is spurious" when you use an Office 2016 application to access Microsoft 365 resources

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Microsoft 365 Family, Microsoft 365 Personal, Microsoft 365 Apps, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, Office Professional Plus 2016, Office Standard 2016, Access 2016, Excel 2016, OneNote 2016, OneDrive for Business, Outlook 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Project Standard 2016, Publisher 2016, Visio Professional 2016, Visio Standard 2016, Word 2016

Problem

This article contains information that applies when you use the OneDrive for Business Next Generation Sync Client (onedrive.exe) or the OneDrive for Business sync client (groove.exe) OneDrive for Business sync client.

Note

To determine which OneDrive sync client you're using, see Which OneDrive sync client am I using?.

In a Windows 10 environment, you use your Microsoft 365 work or school account to access Microsoft 365 resources such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, or OneDrive for Business. However, when you start an Office 2016 application or OneDrive for Business, you receive the following error message:

Background task activation is spurious

Workaround

To work around this issue, click OK to dismiss the error message, and then access the Microsoft 365 resource again.

Status

This is a known issue. We're working to address this issue and will post more information in this article when it becomes available.

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.