OneNote sync failure error code: 0xE00009C8 bb0ur

Anonymous
2024-08-27T21:53:01+00:00

Rebooted my PC today to finish Windows updates and now get this on all notebooks: "OneNote can't sync your notes right now. We'll keep trying. (Error code: 0xE00009C8 bb0ur)"

I've closed all notebooks, logged out and back in to my account and can open the notebooks but they all say "There aren't any sections here'.

The following I've done multiple times over the last 56 hours trying to resolve the issue: I've rebooted, performed O365 repair, SFC /SCANNOW, uninstalled/reinstalled O365, ran SARA to completely uninstall O365 the reinstalled, deleted the cache folder in the appdata folder, logged out of OneNote and back in, deleted all entries related to OneNote or my OneDrive account from credential manager. All of which did nothing to resolve the issue. I can open the notebooks on the web app, but when I try to open them in the desktop app from the web app it prompts me to login, I do, then it gives an error message: "We couldnt open that location. It might not exist or you might not have permission to open it." I'm able to create new notebooks from the desktop app tath get saved in my OneDrive, but I can't open any existing OneNote notebooks from my OneDrive.

I have multiple OneNote notebooks with hundreds of pages that I've accumulated of the years so I am not going to recreate (copy/paste) all of the content into new notebooks. Feels like a bad Windows update. Please help!

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For business | Windows

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Anonymous
2024-08-30T23:03:16+00:00

Hello Dime_Baggins,

I'm a Product Manager from the OneNote team and I thank you for taking the time to explain the issue in detail. 

We acknowledge that there's a known sync issue which is affecting some of our users on OneNote Windows app. We are actively working to fix this issue. In the meanwhile, you can access your notes from the OneNote Web app at onenote.com. Thank you for understanding.

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Anonymous
2024-09-03T20:11:20+00:00

Hello OneNote community, thank you for your patience as we investigated this syncing issue. We've deployed a fix as of this morning and sync reliability is being restored today (Sept 3rd). To get your notes back in sync, right-click your notebook in the desktop app and select "Sync This Notebook Now." If you're still having issues by the end of the day, please feel free to post in this forum.

We really value all of our incredible users and thank you for sticking with us!

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-08-30T06:43:36+00:00

    Thanks Mia

    Been through the microsoft remote troubleshooting, hosted via Quick Assist

    case number 7050037519

    case was escalated from Level 1 to Level 2

    I was told by Microsoft Representative that this has nothing to do with windows update which, appears to me temporally preceeded the onenote syncing issue.

    For me i have noticed in update history log: 2024-08 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5041587)

    installed on 28th August, however not sure if this is the immediate culprit as there are a few microsoft defender updates around the same period. Syncing issue noticed first thing in the morning 29th Aug 2024.

    The Level 1 tinkering by microsoft representative left the Office suite with error 29 universally, (this is issue of inability to log into office using my office 365 credentials, products was deemed unlicensed, syncing issue not solved)

    This was then escalated to Level 2 which solved the error 29 but downgrading the Office to older version, however onenote syncing issue persisted.

    The Level 2 representative suggested an ISO install as the ultimate fix that may fix 90% of issues, which, I attempted following the remote session.

    However, same onenote syncing issue persisted (Error code: 0xE00009C8 bb0ur)

    I was repeatedly informed that this is not a systemic issue, however i can see that 2 days into this thread there are already 10 people identified to have the same issue so far.

    Still hoping for a solution from microsoft (the error essentially rendered my device useless without onenote).

    Many thanks

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-08-30T06:46:14+00:00

    I have the same problem as Dime_Baggins. It just happened today. Same error code. I have many important notes that I use every day. Please investigate the bug immediately. @Microsoft

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-08-30T06:55:46+00:00

    I have the same issue. I've done literally nothing and all my notebooks are gone. I can still access them online, which is a PITA when I want to use my app on my computer :(

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