Windows 10: OneDrive Personal Vault employee access

Hi,

Does anyone know if MS support employees have access to it? This has always been my fear of using something vendor-provided. Didn't it come out recently that tech support employees had access to consumer customer's email accounts?

I have been using Boxcryptor for years, but I've always used my own key, not one stored with them. I use it for financial documents and 2fa recovery keys, QR codes, PGP stuff, etc. I would honestly feel like it was safer using OneDrive instead of Boxcryptor, which requires a third-party virtual file system driver (CBFS Connect). I think there's probably less likelihood of file corruption due to a bug or something sticking with something like OneDrive. I do worry about losing to corruption content that's encrypted by me, so I regularly copy my encrypted files from the cloud to a local location unencrypted as a backup.

I've also read that MS does automated scanning of OneDrive for illegal content, which obviously requires full access. I have searched for any sort of MS documentation that on the new Personal Vault that definitively states one way or another, but so far I've found nothing.

:)

 

OneDrive Personal Vault cannot be unlocked on Windows10.

I was able to get rid of the Red X on my OneDrive icon and the error message saying that the Personal Vault could not be synchronized by doing the following:

1. Access the personal vault OnLine via the the View OnLine option from the desktop icon in the task bar.
   
2. Open the vault via the Web Browser and select all the files and folders in the vault.
3. Count all the files and folders presently in the Personal Vault.
4. Move all the files and folders out of the Personal Vault to another folder in your OneDrive.
5. Refresh and verify the Personal Vault is empty.
6. Verify all your important files have been successfully moved by verifying the folder and file count.
7. Disable the Personal Vault online via the Web browser.
8. Select the Personal Vault and attempt to delete it. A message "Cant delete Personal Vault' appears.
9. Click on 'Go to settings'.
10. Select the options to Disable the Personal Vault <Select Disable>. and "Disable" when asked are you sure. [NOTE: when you do this, any contents in the vault are irretrievably lost. So make sure it is empty first.]
11. Wait 30-60 seconds for your OneDrive desktop to synch.
12. Go back to the browser and select Enable on the Persona Vault window if it is still opened.
13. If you closed the window, select Settings in the upper right of online OneDrive (to the left of the question mark), select options, select Personal Vault from the left side menu, then select Enable.
14. A pop-up stating, "Your Personal Vault is back". Select 'got it'.
15. Click on OneDrive in the upper left corner of the browser screen.
16. Find your Personal Vault in your file/folder list.
17. Open it (you will have to authenticate to open).
18. Inspect the vault. It should be empty. In some cases there will be old "uncached" files that appears. It was the failed synching that caused the Red X. Reestablishing the Personal Vault allows the synch to proceed. Be careful as these files might not
    contain the most contemporaneous data.
19. You should now be able to use the Personal Vault as before without the Red X. You can move the files you moved out of the Personal Vault back into the Personal Vault - - begin careful to decide which version to keep of any duplicate files.

 

Can you get access to the OneDrive Personal Vault when offline?

Good question! Personal Vault is a protected area in OneDrive that you can only access with a strong authentication method or a second step of identity verification, such as your fingerprint, face, PIN, or a code sent to you via email or SMS. Your locked
files in Personal Vault have an extra layer of security, keeping them more secured in the event that someone gains access to your account or your device. Yes, even if it's offline it will still need to authenticate.

 

OneDrive Personal Vault cannot be unlocked on Windows10.

Windows 10 May 2019 Update and 1 TB OneDrive Data

After adding Documents and Desktop to be synched via OneDrive, it took a long time updating.

After attempting to shift a large number of folders from OneDrive into Personal Vault, it took so much time synching I abandoned the operation.

Now I am unable to access Personal Vault.

Clicking the white cloud on the status bar I read: (word to the effect) Unable to access Personal Vault. 6,361 files cannot be synched. Error Code 0x8004de40

I am unable to Open, Unlock, or access Personal Vault to view files.

Please help.