How to Fix OneDrive Error 0x8004deef in Windows

In this post, we will discuss what OneDrive Error 0x8004deef is, what causes it, and how you may overcome this issue on your Windows PC. As per Microsoft, this error code primarily occurs when there are factors hindering the smooth syncing on your OneDrive account.

What triggers an error code 0x8004deef in OneDrive?

The error 0x8004deef is a login error and it occurs when there are issues authenticating your user id and password. This could happen when your device meets one or a combination of the following issues –

• Temporary Glitches or Internal Conflicts: Restarting OneDrive might resolve this issue.
• You are connected to a slow and unstable internet connection: Restart your router and if the issue persists even after this, you better connect to a different network provider.
• Use of some Proxy and VPN Services: If you do use some Proxy or VPN to go online on your computer, make sure to disable them first.
• Due to unnecessarily stored cache or corruption within the user data: 

Now that you know what possibly could have gone wrong, let’s discuss the working solutions in somewhat more detail. 

OneDrive Error 0x8004deef in Windows, Fixed

This error 0x8004deef in OneDrive is associated with synchronization issues. To fix this on your Windows PC, you must consider applying the below fixes in the same order as they were put in. 

1] Restart OneDrive

The error 0x8004deef might appear due to internal conflicts or temporary issues in OneDrive. Before you attempt any fix, we recommend restarting OneDrive once. Restarting it will solve temporary glitches and thus it may resolve the error as well. 

• For this, right-click on the OneDrive icon, and then select “Exit” or “Close OneDrive”.

• Windows 11 users may click on the Settings icon and then select Pause syncing > Quit OneDrive.

• A prompt appears next asking if you really want to close OneDrive. Well, click on the Close OneDrive button. 

Now that you have closed OneDrive, restart it again and login into your Microsoft account using the right credentials. If you don’t remember your old password, you may click on forgot password and follow the on-screen instructions to retrieve your password. 

2] Check your Internet Connection

OneDrive is a cloud account and thus you require a fast and stable internet connection to access all your files and folders. Go and check if you are connected to a high-speed Network. If not, you may consider resetting your network or switching to a fast and stable internet connection. 

How to Disable OneDrive in Windows 11

3] Disable using VPN and Proxy

Many of us use some proxy or VPN before connecting to the online world. Using some Proxy or VPN services hides your device’s IP address by rerouting the internet traffic through a remote server. Though not always, but this may also result in an error code 0x8004deef appearing on OneDrive. If that’s the case, you better disable your VPN or Proxy by following these easy steps – 

• Press Windows + I to launch Settings.
• Select Network & Internet from the left navigation and head over to the right pane. 
• Select VPN, and remove or at least disable using a VPN connection on your computer.
• Come back and now go to Proxy and delete or disable “Manual proxy setup.” Do also turn off the toggle switch available next to “Automatically detect settings.” 

• Close Settings and restart your Windows PC.

Hopefully, you will be able to retrieve all your files from the subsequent opening of OneDrive. 

4] Clear OneDrive Cache

The presence of old caches and cookies might also corrupt OneDrive and result in an error code 0x8004deef. It is thereby suggested to clear the old caches from OneDrive from time to time. Assuming you didn’t purge such files on your OneDrive account, follow these steps to execute this process –

• Right-click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select “Settings.”
• On the upcoming window, select “Account” and then Unlink this PC on the right pane. 

• A prompt will appear next asking if you really want to “Unlink account on this PC?”. 
• Well, click Unlink account and follow the upcoming prompts to remove your account. 

Restart your computer next so that OneDrive restarts as well. From the next login, check if you can open OneDrive and sign in to your account. Hopefully, this works fine without getting into some error code 0x8004deef.

Note: Not having enough free storage space in your OneDrive account may also result in different issues or error codes. Go and check what is the current usage of disk spaces on your OneDrive account. If the usage is approaching the 5 GB mark, either delete some of your old files or simply upgrade to a Pro plan. 

How do I remove cached account identities in OneDrive?

Several users suggested removing cached account identities in OneDrive resolves this error code 0x8004deef for them. If you are still getting this error code when opening OneDrive, consider following these easy steps – 

• Open the Run dialog by pressing Windows + R.
• Type Regedit on it and hit OK. 
• When the UAC window prompts, hit Yes to authorize opening the registry.
• Inside the registry, navigate to the below path –

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity

• Right-click on this Identity entry and choose to delete it from your device.
• After this key is deleted successfully, close the registry, and restart your computer.

Sign back into your device again and check if you can use OneDrive without getting into an error 0x8004deef or some other error code. 

5] Disable antivirus or firewall temporarily

If you use some third-party antivirus programs on your Windows PC, consider disabling them for some time. This is because external security apps are known to interact with the system apps and make them corrupt. After disabling the third-party antivirus program, make sure to perform an SFC scan on your computer.

System File Checker will look out for corrupt and missing system files and repair them automatically. After this scan is over, restart your PC, and check if you can use OneDrive normally. If this solution helps you to overcome the error code 0x8004deef, consider uninstalling that particular security app from your system.

Note: You may use Windows Security as your default security app on Windows 11/10 instead of relying on third-party apps for finding and fixing malware.

6] Reset OneDrive

If the error 0x8004deef is still occurring, it is better to reset OneDrive to its default settings. Follow the below steps on how to reset OneDrive to its default values – 

• Press Windows + X, and select Terminal (Admin).
• When the UAC prompts, hit Yes to authorize opening the terminal as an administrator.
• Press Ctrl + Shift + 2 to invoke Command Prompt on the opened terminal.
• Next, copy/paste the following code on it and press the Enter key – 

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset

• Wait for a few seconds while your OneDrive account is reset to its default values. 

After the resetting completes, you may restart your Windows PC and check if the error code 0x8004deef resolves now. 

7] Update OneDrive

It is essential to update all applications on Windows including the system apps. If you haven’t updated OneDrive for a long time, this may also result in different error codes when starting OneDrive in Windows. Open Microsoft Store, and search for OneDrive there. If there’s an update available for this, click on the Update button. 

Alternatively, one may also visit the official Microsoft website, and download the latest version of OneDrive from there. After the downloading completes, double-click on the setup file to begin its installation. 

Quick note: If none of the above solutions help to resolve this error code, you better contact Microsoft Support for further assistance.

• How do I share OneDrive Files in Windows 11?