After upgrading to windows 10, I can sync on my Hotmail account which was carried over from 8.1. I am using the included Mail app. My other email accounts did not so I have added them many times using the advanced option. They are secure imap servers. All the calender and mail permissions are turned to on and I have tried with Defender turned off but they will not sync and I get the error code 0x80072af9. The Hotmail account syncs fine though. Have trolled everywhere to no avail yet. Will I have to install a third party mail client because Windows one wont work. Don't want to if possible.

This error usually occurs when trying to open Windows Defender or attempts to check for updates. Follow the steps mentioned in the link or make use of the below steps to fix the 0x80072af9 error on your Windows system.

Causes of the Error:

• The error won't let to install the latest definition update, which means that your operating system may have some security breaches.
• System file corruption can also cause 0x80072af9 error. A refresh or a repair install is usually effective in resolving this particular problem.

Run sfc /scannow :

• Go to the start menu
• In the search column, type as Command Prompt.
• Right-click on the Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
• Type the following command and press Enter.
• sfc /scannow
• It takes approximately 10-15 minutes for completion.
• Then type the following command and press Enter.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• Once the scan is finished, check if the problem is resolved or not

Install Windows Updates:

• Make use of the shortcut Win Key + I to open the Windows Settings.
• Then select the Update & Security option.
• In the left pane, click on the Check for updates under the Update Status section.
• If updates are available then update.
• That’s all.
• Use System Restore:
• Go to the start menu.
• In the search column, type as system restore.
• Tap Create a restore point option that appears at the top of the start menu.
• In the window, select the System Restore.
• When System Restore window opens, click Next.
• In the next window, select the desired restore point and click Next.
• Follow instructions on the screen to complete the process.

Update Windows Defender:

• Right-click on the desktop, the popup menu get appears in that select New and then click Shortcut.
• Create a shortcut for the following command.

%SystemRoot%\System32\Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:35 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:35

Then, right-click the shortcut and select run it as an administrator. Open the Power menu by pressing the shortcut key Win Key + X and select Command Prompt (Admin). Type the following command and press Enter.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

• Once done, try to install the Windows Defender definition update.

Clean up junk files:

• Make use of the shortcut Win Key + R to open the Run command dialog box.
• Type cleanmgr in the given space box of Open and click OK.
• Now, select the drive that you want to clean.
• Click OK.
• That’s all.

Please feel free to let us know if you need further assistance.

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Lemma tries this solution. Thanks for helping me out!

Hello. Idk if you're still looking at this post or not, but here's the issue. I did everything listed and it didn't fix the problem. I also turned off Norton firewall along with win Defender. Still not getting or able to send email. Account is Comcast. Worked in the past. So, I set up manually using their primary port numbers and alternative port numbers with no luck. Set it up on my desktop in 2 sec with no problems and didn't have to turn off any firewalls. Thoughts???

Hi Geoff,

I'm having the same problems. My Bigpond email stopped working on Outlook. Tried all the fixes to no avail, so tried setting up on Mail instead. Has been working on and off, but now has stopped working and I get this error message. I also run Norton security. So frustrating!