OneDrive sync error: "credentials needed" when Sharepoint permission level "delete items" is taken away

Question

We need to use OneDrive to sync files, from a Sharepoint folder, with a group of employees - for offline access. These employees should NOT be able to delete files. While these settings work great in SharePoint, OneDrive has a problem with it. 

1. First off, setting the users to "Read Only" in SharePoint results in Sync Errors....so I wanted to isolate the problem.
2. A user in the group "Members" has the default "Contribute" permissions. 
   1. With these permissions, there are no Sync errors. Everything Works.
3. I went into the "Contribute" permissions and simply took away "Delete Items" 
   1. The result was: Sync Errors: Credentials Needed

When clicking on "Credentials Needed" it simply loads the SharePoint folder in the browser, which the user has access to. 

If there is a diffrent way to sync/share files besides everyone syncing via SharePoint please advise, but remember there will be "owners" with full access, and "members" who can view the files but not delete or add additional files. 

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Timothy,

Any update would be appreciated.

Regards,

Jared

Answer 2

Hi Tim,

For your scenario, I have done the related test. On Windows 10 with OneDrive for Business 2016, I give a user Read permission and sync the file to the local without the error message.

To troubleshoot the issue, could you try the following steps?

1. Exit all Office applications including the OneDrive for Business sync client.
2. Reset IE settings and delete personal settings: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/reset-ie-settings#ie=ie-11 . 
3. Removing all the stored credentials in the credentials manager (Control Panel > User Accounts >Credential Manager > Windows Credentials). (NOTE: This will remove your stored passwords.)
4. Win + R > Run regedit as administrator.
5. From Registry Editor, browse to(If you user Office 2013,change the 16.0 to 15.0):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity

6. Delete the Identity folder.
7. Open OneDrive for Business to continue syncing. It will prompts you to enter the credentials again. Enter your account and check the outcome.

Please share updates when you have time.

Thanks,

Felix