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Microsoft’s 2024 notice planned to retire IDCRL authentication for SharePoint Online on June 15, 2024. SharePoint Designer 2013 uses IDCRL by default, so Microsoft’s documented troubleshooting path is to configure the 32-bit client for modern authentication, install specified Office updates, and clear its caches only if sign-in still fails. The archived notice establishes the planned date, not whether or when the change was enforced for any particular tenant.
What the IDCRL notice means
Microsoft Message Center item MC793968 announced that it would retire the Identity Client Runtime Library (IDCRL) feature from SharePoint Online. An archived copy records June 15, 2024 as the planned date. It says SharePoint Designer users would no longer be able to authenticate with IDCRL after the change. Cloudscout’s archived MC793968 notice records that it was created May 18, 2024 and updated June 14; another reproduction says Microsoft originally posted the notice on May 20, 2024. The reproduced notice also directs users to Microsoft’s modern-authentication instructions.
Those dates describe the announcement, not verified completion across all tenants. The available notice reproductions do not establish the current rollout state for a particular organization.
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Why SharePoint Designer 2013 may fail to connect
Microsoft explains that SharePoint Designer 2013 natively uses IDCRL to authenticate to SharePoint Online. Modern authentication uses the Azure Active Directory Authentication Library (ADAL), but the client needs additional requirements before it can use that method. If IDCRL authentication is unavailable and the client is not configured for modern authentication, connection attempts can fail or repeatedly request credentials.
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Microsoft lists errors such as “We are unable to connect right now” and “We are unable to sign you in to <your organization, such as Contoso>.” See its SharePoint Designer 2013 authentication troubleshooting article, last updated July 14, 2025.
Apply Microsoft’s documented modern-authentication fix
The steps below reflect Microsoft’s Windows troubleshooting procedure; they are not a guarantee that every connection problem has the same cause. Follow the full Microsoft article for its exact update details and instructions.
- Confirm you have 32-bit SharePoint Designer 2013. Microsoft warns that its resolution steps might not work correctly with the 64-bit edition.
- Enable ADAL in the registry. In the Office 15.0 Common registry area, open the
Identitysubkey and setEnableADALto1. Use the precise registry path and any applicable prerequisites in Microsoft’s article; do not create or change unrelated values. - Install the specified SharePoint Designer and Office updates. Microsoft lists 32-bit SharePoint Designer 2013 SP1, update KB3114721 (August 2, 2016), and the Office 2013 security update dated September 10, 2019. Follow the support article’s directions, then restart as instructed.
- Continue only if authentication still fails. Microsoft lists additional Office updates as follow-up troubleshooting. Consult the article for the relevant updates and sequence for your installation.
- Clear the named caches as a later step. If the issue persists after the preceding steps, use Microsoft’s instructions to clear the SharePoint Designer-related caches. The support article identifies the locations and procedure.
How to interpret the outcome
If the 32-bit client connects after these changes, it is using the documented modern-authentication route rather than relying on IDCRL. If it still cannot sign in, the error alone does not establish that the tenant’s rollout status is the cause; follow Microsoft’s remaining troubleshooting steps and check with your Microsoft 365 administrator about the organization’s configuration.
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