The server couldn't complete this action Office error

This post will show you how to ffix Error 0x803d000a, 0x88ffc009, or 0x803d0005, The server couldn’t complete the action requested in Office.

Some users cannot save files in Excel, Word, and other Office apps. Some other users reported the same issue when accessing files over a network. Both sets of users reported getting the following error message when trying to do their respective tasks.

The server couldn’t complete this action. Error Code0x88ffc009, 0x803d0005 or 0x803d000a

You may see different error codes such as 0x803d000a, 0x88ffc009, or 0x803d0005, but the solutions mentioned here apply to all since the error because of server and network issues.

Fix The server couldn’t complete this action Office error

If the server is unable to complete the action asked by the user, it is very likely that there is some issue with the network. Your network connection might be slow or laggy.

To fix The server couldn’t complete the action requested, Error 0x803d000a, 0x88ffc009, or 0x803d0005 in Office follow these suggestions:

Restart Microsoft Word
Check your network connectivity
Close potentially conflicting documents
Change the location of OneDirve
Repair Office

Let’s get started.

Fix 0x803d000a, 0x88ffc009, or 0x803d0005 Office error

1] Restart Office App

You may encounter the error due to some technical glitch. In that case, you can close the app completely and then open it. However, if you get this error when saving a file, closing the app is not a feasible option. In that case, either save the file offline or paste the content to an alternative application, for example, for Word, Google Docs is an alternative online service. Once you are out of this dilemma, follow the steps mentioned below to restart the app.

Close all related files.
Choose the File option in the menu and select close to exit completely.
Open Task Manager, look if any Office app is running, right-click on it, and select End Task.
Wait for a while then open the program again.

Once it is restarted, go and check whether the issue will be resolved or not.

2] Check your network connectivity

When a user tries to access a file that requires communication with a server or network, but the server or network is not responding and users are getting an error while opening Microsoft Word. In this situation, make sure network connectivity is working and stable and the server is reachable. For that, use any of the mentioned Internet Speed checkers. Sometimes restarting the router and modem at the customer end fixes the problem. Also, clearing the DNS cache helps to resolve DNS issues and improve connectivity.

3] Close potentially conflicting documents

The error can also occur if the same server is accessed through two or more Word documents or Excel files or some other Office file, as they cause a conflict or collision. Under these circumstances, the server will be unable to complete the requested action. In this scenario, we should close the conflicting documents to fix the issue. First, save all Word documents before closing them. Now, reopen the Word document that was making an error. If the reason for the error message is conflicting documents, then closing the redundant files will do the job for you.

4] Change the location of OneDirve

Office program is not able to access the targeted files dues to them being stored in an unrecognized or incorrectly labeled folder. This can not just trigger the error, it can also cause the files to be lost. In such scenarios, we recommend ensuring that the targeted files are stored in the right place.

Navigate to File explorer and then search for all the OneDrive folders that are not recognized or have different labels. Also, look out for documents that’s giving you the error. If there are any new folders, search for the desired file, and then relocate it to the appropriate document folder in OneDrive.

Once the process is completed, delete all the unrecognized ones and then launch the app and see if the issue is resolved

5] Repair Office

If non of the above solution work in your case then you can repair the office. Repairing the office can fix any corrupted or missing files or settings that may be causing the error automatically. We can follow the steps given below to do the same

Close any applications that are open.
Press Windows + I to open Windows Settings
On the left side of the screen, select Apps
Click on installed apps and Search for Office.
Click on the three doted lines to open more options.
Now click on Advanced options and then click the Repair button.

Follow the on-screen instruction. Once the repair process is completed, restart the computer and hopefully, the issue will be resolved.

We hope that you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this article.

Read: How to fix OneDrive error codes

How do I fix error code 0x8004de40?

OneDrive Error Code 0x8004de40 occurs when your computer is unable to connect to OneDrive. This mostly happens due to misconfigured network settings, and you can try editing the settings and if that doesn’t work, reset the service.