When I click play on my MC launcher it says this: "Sorry, you have encountered a problem;...

Hi there! This is Virginia O.

I understand that you are experiencing issues accessing the Minecraft Launcher.

I apologize for the inconvenienced this has caused you. I will do my best to help you.

Please restart the Launcher by closing the Minecraft Launcher completely and reopen it because a simple restart resolves temporary glitches.

And then sign out and sign back in. To do this, log out of your Microsoft account in the Launcher, then log back in. This can refresh your session and fix account-related issues.

Next is to update the Launcher. Make sure that you are using the latest version of the Minecraft Launcher. You can check for updates in the Microsoft Store or on the official Minecraft website.

Then repair the Launcher. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.

Find the Minecraft Launcher, click the three dots, and select Advanced Options.

Please choose repair.

After that is to check Internet connection. Kindly ensure that you have a stable internet connection because connectivity issues can prevent the Launcher from functioning properly.

Thank you for your cooperation.

When I logon to TL Launcher which is a cracked launcher I can log in with my Microsoft account and use my Mojang skin... Thats whats confusing me and yes I know its a cracked launcher but why does it pick up all my details of my MC account when I log in with this account but when I use the official launcher it says I dont own the game at all.

Ok so when I right click my profile in Mc launcher and press go to account it takes me to my other micro soft account so I can change settings cuz I can get in the account

I was having this same problem when I was trying to run 1.8.9
All these previous replies have said to open options which does not exist on the current ver of mc launcher.
I fixed my problem by turning on the beta ver of the launcher: settings<use beta version of the launcher.

I'm not sure if this will work for anyone else, especially if they're trying to run a different version, but it certainly worked for me!

best solution is to just update the launcher, so go to the Microsoft store if the launcher doesn't say so, and find Minecraft and click get i think, it won't necessarily say update, but get, it will be grey, be sure to have your launcher closed before this, then when its downloaded/updated click play, and it would pop up with the new launcher it will look the same however when you try to log in via Microsoft, you'll notice it will be different as it would open a dark window, aka Xbox. and that fixed my issue,