On my Windows 11 laptop, I can sign in to my Microsoft and Xbox accounts normally through a web browser, and my internet connection works as expected. However, Windows-based apps that use Microsoft account authentication fail with error 0x800704CF. The Microsoft Store, Xbox app, Get Help, and previously Windows Security have all been affected, while Windows Update continues to work normally. The problem also occurs on multiple Wi-Fi networks.
I have already updated and restarted Windows, run wsreset.exe, reset Winsock and TCP/IP, renewed and flushed DNS, confirmed that no proxy is configured, checked TLS settings, and verified that the Microsoft Account Sign-in Assistant, Web Account Manager, and AAD Broker Plugin are working. I also removed an old school/work account, but the problem remained. My Microsoft account appears twice in the Windows account picker, and manually entering the account produces the same error. Safe Mode with Networking prompted for a BitLocker recovery key, so I did not continue.
The issue appears to be limited to my original Windows user profile. After creating a new local profile, the Microsoft Store signed in successfully and Minecraft was able to authenticate through Xbox services. Is there a way to repair the authentication components or cached credentials in the original profile without reinstalling Windows?
3 Answers
Since the problem is limited to one Windows profile, the most likely cause is corrupted per-user authentication data rather than your account, network, or Windows installation. You can close Microsoft apps and rename the affected profile's OneAuth, IdentityCache, and TokenBroker folders under %LocalAppData%Microsoft, then restart and sign in again so Windows recreates them. Keep the renamed folders as backups instead of deleting them immediately.
Also verify that the system date, time, time zone, and automatic time synchronization are correct. Authentication tokens can be rejected when the clock is significantly wrong, although that would be less likely here because the issue only affects one profile.
The successful test with a new local profile is the most useful result here. It confirms that the Microsoft account and connectivity are fine, and points to damaged profile-level WAM or token data. If repairing the caches, reinstalling the affected Store/Xbox packages, and resetting their app data do not help, the safest practical fix may be migrating your files and settings to a new Windows profile rather than performing a full Windows reinstall.
That makes sense. I was hoping to repair the original profile, but the new profile can sign in to the Store and Xbox services normally, so I may migrate to it if the remaining profile repairs fail.
I tried clearing or renaming those authentication folders, but the Store still returned 0x800704CF. The new local profile continues to work, so the issue does seem specific to the original profile.