OneDrive Error 0x8004de40: Check Connectivity, TLS and Device Sign-In

OneDrive won’t sign in: “There was a problem connecting to OneDrive” / “Login was either interrupted or unsuccessful,” with error code 0x8004de40 (or the related 0x8004de88).

Start with connectivity: these codes mean OneDrive cannot connect, not that TLS is definitely broken. Confirm internet access, check proxy/firewall restrictions and system time, and retry. If a managed device or security baseline changed recently, ask IT to check the version-specific TLS/cipher or device-trust conditions below before changing system settings.

Fix 1: Re-enable TLS in Internet Options

1. Win + R → inetcpl.cpl → Advanced tab.
2. Under Security, ensure Use TLS 1.2 (and TLS 1.3 if listed) are checked. Leave SSL 3.0 unchecked.
3. Apply, reboot, and retry OneDrive.

Fix 2: Make sure the required cipher suites are enabled and ordered

Microsoft’s Windows 10 guidance calls for these four suites at the top of the cipher order: TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, and TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256. List the active order in admin PowerShell:

Get-TlsCipherSuite | Format-Table Name

Have IT check the effective SSL Cipher Suite Order policy before changing a managed PC. Microsoft’s example for adding a suite at the highest priority includes -Position 0:

Enable-TlsCipherSuite -Name "TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384" -Position 0

This one command does not by itself verify all four suites or the effective policy. Check their resulting priority against Microsoft’s procedure, then reboot after an approved change. Do not weaken a security baseline blindly.

Fix 3: Re-establish device trust (work/school accounts)

For Entra/Azure-AD-joined PCs, a stale device registration breaks token exchange. In admin Command Prompt:

dsregcmd /status

If AzureAdJoined/SSO look wrong, have IT re-join the device (a dsregcmd /leave then re-join), then sign in to OneDrive again.

Fix 4: Clear the OneDrive credential, then sign in fresh

1. Quit OneDrive (tray icon → gear → Quit OneDrive).
2. Credential Manager (Win + R → control /name Microsoft.CredentialManager) → Windows Credentials → remove any OneDrive Cached Credential entries.
3. Relaunch OneDrive and sign in. (Do this after Fixes 1–2 — on its own it won’t fix a TLS failure.)

FAQ

Is 0x8004de88 the same fix? Yes — it’s the same connection/TLS family; work through Fixes 1–3 in order.

It started after our IT rolled out a security baseline. That’s the classic trigger — a baseline that disabled older TLS or reordered ciphers. Restore the TLS settings (Fixes 1–2) and tell IT which suites OneDrive needs.

Could it be a date/time problem? Yes — a wrong system clock breaks TLS too. Confirm Set time automatically is on before deeper steps.

Sources: Microsoft Learn — Error 0x8004de40 when you sign in to OneDrive