Something Went Wrong [4wbr5] Problem

Question

Hi Experts,

We are currently experiencing the "Something Went Wrong [4wbr5]" error in Microsoft 365 applications used within our company. As far as we have identified, this issue occurs on computers that have been running for more than five days when launching the office application.

**Is anyone else experiencing this "Something Went Wrong [4wbr5]" error with Microsoft 365 on 2408, 2508 or later versions?

**In Japan, due to the high number of public holidays, VM often remain running for more than five consecutive days without a restart. This is when the issue consistently occurs, and as a result, we receive approximately 10 inquiries per day, making it quite urgent for us.

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🔄 Steps to Reproduce
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1. Keep the VM running continuously for 5 to 7 days
   or more WITHOUT any user login. (No user interaction is required during this period.)
2. After the VM has been running for 5–7+ days, log in and launch Outlook or Teams.
3. The "Something Went Wrong [4wbr5]" error appears
   almost consistently upon launching the application.

・OS : Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2 (the VM Environment)
・Microsoft 365: Build 2408

Answer 1

Hi Kuni

Thank you for providing the detailed description of your environment and the steps to reproduce the issue.

Based on the information currently available I found, there does not appear to be any publicly documented or officially published issue that is specific to Microsoft 365 Apps builds 2408, 2508, or later versions that directly aligns with this behavior. However, I found some related community discussions for reference, as other customers have reported similar symptoms associated with the same error code. You can check their discussions here:

Something Went Wrong. [4wbr5] Problem - Microsoft Q&A

Cannot Sign into any microsoft apps - Error something went wrong [4wbr5] tried moving IdenityCache …

As an initial step, you may want to try the following to see whether it changes the behavior:

• Close all Microsoft 365 applications
• Clear local cache/account-related data (for example, restarting relevant services or the device)
• Restart the device or VM and then launch the affected application again

At this point, if the impact to your operations remains significant, I recommend you open a support ticket to reach out to Microsoft Support Team (I hope you understand that this forum is a peer-to-peer community, while members can share advice and experiences only, we do not have access to your account details for security and privacy reasons).

More details on how to get help from Microsoft 365 support can be found here: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

I hope this information helps, if you have any updates or need any additional information. Please feel free to let me know via comment section!

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Answer 2

The provided context does not contain any information specific to a “Something went wrong [4wbr5]” error, Windows 11 24H2/25H2, or build 2408/2508 of Microsoft 365 Apps, so only general, supported guidance can be given.

Based on the context, the most relevant supported actions are:

1. Use the built‑in repair options for Microsoft 365 Apps
   • On Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features.
   • Select the Microsoft 365 Apps entry, choose Advanced options (if available), then run Repair. If that does not help, run Reset.
   • Alternatively, from Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, right‑click Microsoft 365 Apps and choose Repair or Change, then follow the wizard.
2. Check whether the issue is tied to a specific Office build and, if so, test reverting to a previous version
   • The context shows multiple recent issues where specific Office builds caused crashes or add‑in failures and were mitigated by reverting to an earlier build using Click‑to‑Run.
   • To test whether the 4wbr5 error is build‑specific in the environment, pick a known‑good earlier build from the official update history, then on an affected VM run (from an elevated Command Prompt):
     1. cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun
     2. officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=<target build>
   • After confirming stability, disable automatic updates in an affected app via File > Office Account > Update Options > Disable Updates to prevent automatic re‑upgrade while investigating.
3. If the issue is widespread and reproducible, open a support case with Microsoft
   • The context shows that for service‑side or licensing‑related issues (for example, unexpected deactivations), Microsoft engineering has deployed fixes after investigation.
   • For a reproducible 4wbr5 error tied to long‑running VMs, collect logs (including Office logs and Windows Event Viewer Application logs around the failure) and open a Microsoft 365 Apps support ticket so the scenario can be escalated.

These are the only actions directly supported by the provided material; there is no specific documented known issue for the 4wbr5 error in the supplied context.

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References:

• "Something went wrong" error when you try to start a Microsoft 365 app
• Classic Outlook and Microsoft 365 applications crashing on Windows Server 2016
• Outlook, Word, or OneNote unexpectedly close when typing
• Users might receive a Product Deactivated error in Microsoft 365 Office apps
• Launch your Microsoft 365 for the web integration
• How to revert to an earlier version of Office
• Microsoft Office 365 Version 26.03.19725.20152 breaks Exchange SE add-ins
• Exchange Add-ins not loading for some users
• Office 365 Winword.exe issue at startup Win11 Home 25H2 64 bits - Microsoft Q&A
• How can I get office 365 to work? - Microsoft Q&A
• October update, Windows 11 24H2, issues authenticating - Microsoft Q&A