Sync agent stops with Error 5 Access Denied after internet outage
Cloud sync agent services on domain controllers fail with an Error 5 Access Denied message following a network interruption. This blocks synchronization and requires adding the group managed service account to the built-in Administrator group to restore functionality.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 38.7× more often in r/Wordpress than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Add the service account to the built-in Administrator group in Active DirectoryDid this help you?
- 2Move the synchronization agent to a member server instead of a domain controllerDid this help you?
- 3Spun up an internal bridge to coordinate responses.Did this help you?
- 4Allowing XML-RPC through the security settings or firewallDid this help you?
- 5Running the dsregcmd /leave command to force the machine to leave and rejoin upon startupDid this help you?
- 6Checking device status using dsregcmd /statusDid this help you?
- 7Investigating Intune compliance status, conditional access policies, and group policiesDid this help you?
- 8Rebooting the virtual machineDid this help you?
- 9Disabling antivirus temporarilyDid this help you?
- 10Uninstalling the problematic system updateDid this help you?
- 11Opening a Sev A case with Microsoft supportDid this help you?
- 12Verifying attribute mappings and user principal name consistencyDid this help you?
- 13Checking group assignments and Role-Based Access Control settingsDid this help you?
- 14Clearing cached sessions using incognito mode or new browser profilesDid this help you?
- 15Checking security logs on failing endpoints for event 4674 or WinRM operational logs to identify permission issues.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Anyone experiencing issues accessing Azure or Office portals?”source ↗
“We are trying to allow a new user to log into that app but it is not working.”source ↗
“Any idea how to troubleshoot this issue?”source ↗
“Our Exchange SE server (WS2022 standard VM on ESXi) was updated last night . Today morning I noticed the cluster service is unable to start at all.”source ↗
“The usual reboot didn't work nor did disabling AV temporarily. I even uninstalled the update, and the issue persists.”source ↗
“for some reason, our WEC can get sources from 2 vms and its own forwarded events, but it wont get the rest of domain computers.”source ↗
“The forwarder is having a problem communicating with subscription manager at address... Error code is 5 and Error Message is... Access is denied.”source ↗
“So, I had the cloud sync agent working for about 8 months or so. Yesterday, there was an internet outage, and both agent (on 2 DCs) services stopped working (each agent on each DC). The service would not run- Error 5: Access Denied.”source ↗
“The only thing that works is to add the gmsa to the built-in Administrator group in AD.”source ↗
“Seeing this as well, SSO issues from this.”source ↗
“Yup, getting 503 errors when trying to auth into any O365 service or admin center.”source ↗
“We're seeing some too, just spun up an internal bridge but its sounding like a bigger issue than just us.”source ↗
“We're having the same issue - lots of SSO issues, 503, Bad Gateway, etc.”source ↗
“I believe the user gets the "you don't have permission to use the app" error message”source ↗
“A user will show me that on particular devices they cannot print/edit/download files from one drive.”source ↗
“I’ve found tickets relating to this saying it’s to do with the device state and to run dsregcmd /leave and then to reboot and somehow it works.”source ↗
“I go home with headaches everyday from this.”source ↗
“WordPress.com requests to your site are being blocked, usually by a firewall or security rule.”source ↗
“Got a client who's also having issues.”source ↗
“This has just started happening on my ionos hosted site too!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 3Why does Outlook keep showing Access Denied or throwing errors?
- 6Locked out of new network switches because the consultant left
- 7Locked out of cloud service partner center after deauthorization
- 3Where to find missing permissions after a software update
- 9Why am I getting DMARC and SPF errors when emails deliver fine?