Fix Azure AD Connect Error 8344 – Windows Server Active Directory 2026

This method uses the Azure AD Connect built-in troubleshooting wizard to automatically configure the required permissions.

1. Log into the Azure AD Connect server with administrative privileges
2. Open Azure AD Connect from the Start menu
3. Click Configure on the main screen
4. Select Troubleshoot and click Next
5. Click Launch to open the PowerShell troubleshooting interface
6. When prompted, enter 4 and press Enter to select 'Configure AD DS Connector Account Permissions'
7. Enter 12 and press Enter to 'Set all permissions'
8. The wizard will automatically configure the following permissions:
   • Basic read permissions on all objects
   • Password hash synchronization permissions
   • Exchange hybrid permissions (if applicable)
   • Device writeback permissions
9. Wait for the process to complete and review any error messages
10. Type Q to quit the troubleshooting wizard

Use PowerShell to manually set the required permissions when the built-in wizard fails.

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator on the Azure AD Connect server
2. Import the ADSync module:

Import-Module ADSync

3. Get the AD DS connector account name:

$connector = Get-ADSyncConnector | Where-Object {$_.Type -eq "AD"}
$connectorAccount = $connector.ConnectivityParameters | Where-Object {$_.Name -eq "forest-login-user"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value
Write-Host "AD DS Connector Account: $connectorAccount"

4. Set basic read permissions on the domain:

$domainDN = (Get-ADDomain).DistinguishedName
$account = Get-ADUser -Filter "SamAccountName -eq '$connectorAccount'"
dsacls $domainDN /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):GR;;"
dsacls $domainDN /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):CA;Read All Properties;"
dsacls $domainDN /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):CA;Replicating Directory Changes;"

5. Grant password hash synchronization permissions:

dsacls $domainDN /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):CA;Replicating Directory Changes All;"
dsacls $domainDN /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):CA;Replicating Directory Changes In Filtered Set;"

6. Apply permissions to user and computer containers:

$usersContainer = "CN=Users,$domainDN"
$computersContainer = "CN=Computers,$domainDN"
dsacls $usersContainer /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):GA;;user"
dsacls $computersContainer /G "$($account.DistinguishedName):GA;;computer"

When permission issues persist, recreating the connector account with proper permissions resolves complex scenarios.

1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers on a domain controller
2. Navigate to the organizational unit containing the current connector account
3. Right-click the existing connector account and select Delete
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted
5. Create a new service account:

New-ADUser -Name "MSOL_AD_Sync_New" -SamAccountName "MSOL_AD_Sync_New" -UserPrincipalName "MSOL_AD_Sync_New@yourdomain.com" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=yourdomain,DC=com" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "ComplexPassword123!" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true -PasswordNeverExpires $true

6. Open Azure AD Connect and click Configure
7. Select Customize synchronization options and click Next
8. Enter your Microsoft Entra ID global administrator credentials
9. On the Connect your directories page, click Change Credentials
10. Enter the new service account credentials:
• Username: MSOL_AD_Sync_New@yourdomain.com
• Password: The password you set above
11. Click Next and complete the configuration wizard
12. The wizard will automatically apply the required permissions to the new account

Resolve permission issues caused by disabled inheritance or complex security configurations.

1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers
2. Navigate to View → Advanced Features to enable advanced view
3. Right-click the domain root and select Properties
4. Go to the Security tab and click Advanced
5. Check if inheritance is enabled. If not, click Enable Inheritance
6. Verify the connector account has the following permissions:
• Replicating Directory Changes
• Replicating Directory Changes All
• Replicating Directory Changes In Filtered Set
7. Use PowerShell to check and fix inheritance on critical OUs:

$criticalOUs = @(
    "CN=Users,$((Get-ADDomain).DistinguishedName)",
    "CN=Computers,$((Get-ADDomain).DistinguishedName)",
    "OU=YourUserOU,$((Get-ADDomain).DistinguishedName)"
)

foreach ($ou in $criticalOUs) {
    $acl = Get-Acl "AD:$ou"
    if (-not $acl.AreAccessRulesProtected) {
        Write-Host "Inheritance enabled on $ou" -ForegroundColor Green
    } else {
        Write-Host "Inheritance DISABLED on $ou - Manual fix required" -ForegroundColor Red
    }
}

8. For OUs with disabled inheritance, manually enable it:

$ouPath = "OU=YourOU,DC=yourdomain,DC=com"
$acl = Get-Acl "AD:$ouPath"
$acl.SetAccessRuleProtection($false, $true)
Set-Acl "AD:$ouPath" $acl

9. Restart the Microsoft Azure AD Sync service:

Restart-Service ADSync

Use advanced diagnostic techniques when standard methods fail to resolve error 8344.

1. Enable detailed logging for Azure AD Connect:

$regPath = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Azure AD Connect\Logging"
if (-not (Test-Path $regPath)) {
    New-Item -Path $regPath -Force
}
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "LogLevel" -Value 5
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "LogToFile" -Value 1

2. Check the Application Event Log for detailed error information:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application'; ID=6100,6101,6102} -MaxEvents 50 | Where-Object {$_.Message -like "*8344*"} | Format-Table TimeCreated, Id, LevelDisplayName, Message -Wrap

3. Examine the Azure AD Connect service logs:

$logPath = "$env:ProgramData\AADConnect\trace-*.log"
Get-ChildItem $logPath | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1 | Get-Content | Select-String "8344" -Context 5

4. Verify the connector account's effective permissions:

$connectorAccount = "MSOL_AD_Sync"
$domainDN = (Get-ADDomain).DistinguishedName
$effectiveAccess = dsacls $domainDN /G $connectorAccount
Write-Host $effectiveAccess

5. Test LDAP connectivity and permissions:

$ldapConnection = New-Object System.DirectoryServices.DirectoryEntry("LDAP://$domainDN", $connectorAccount, "password")
try {
    $searcher = New-Object System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher($ldapConnection)
    $searcher.Filter = "(objectClass=user)"
    $searcher.PropertiesToLoad.Add("distinguishedName")
    $result = $searcher.FindOne()
    Write-Host "LDAP test successful" -ForegroundColor Green
} catch {
    Write-Host "LDAP test failed: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
}

6. Reset the Azure AD Connect configuration if necessary:

Stop-Service ADSync
$configPath = "$env:ProgramFiles\Microsoft Azure AD Sync\Data"
Rename-Item "$configPath\ADSync.mdf" "$configPath\ADSync.mdf.backup"
Rename-Item "$configPath\ADSync_log.ldf" "$configPath\ADSync_log.ldf.backup"
Start-Service ADSync