Object deletions aren't synchronized to Microsoft Entra ID when using the Azure AD Connect

Original product version:   Cloud Services (Web roles/Worker roles), Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft Intune, Azure Backup, Office 365 Identity Management
Original KB number:   2709902

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You have an on-premises Active Directory object.
  • Directory synchronization is used to sync the Active Directory object to Microsoft Entra ID. It creates a linked object.
  • You delete the on-premises Active Directory object.

In this scenario, the linked object isn't removed from Microsoft Entra ID.

Cause

This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

  • Directory synchronization hasn't yet occurred.
  • Directory synchronization unexpectedly failed to delete a specific cloud object and results in an orphaned Microsoft Entra object.

Resolution

To fix this issue, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the ADSyncTools module is installed for PowerShell. For more information, see Microsoft Entra Connect: ADSyncTools PowerShell Reference.

  2. Run the following ADSync command to force directory synchronization:

    Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Initial
    
  3. If sync is working correctly but the Active Directory object deletion is still not propagated to Microsoft Entra ID, manually remove the orphaned object. To do so, use one of the following cmdlets in Azure Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell:

    Remove-MsolContact
    
    Remove-MsolGroup
    
    Remove-MsolUser
    

    Note

    Azure AD Powershell is planned for deprecation on March 30, 2024. To learn more, read the deprecation update.

    We recommend migrating to Microsoft Graph PowerShell to interact with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). Microsoft Graph PowerShell allows access to all Microsoft Graph APIs and is available on PowerShell 7. For answers to common migration queries, see the Migration FAQ.

    For example, to manually remove orphaned user ID john.smith@contoso.com that was originally created by using directory synchronization, you would run the following cmdlet:

    Remove-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName John.Smith@Contoso.com
    

Contact us for help

If you have questions or need help, create a support request, or ask Azure community support. You can also submit product feedback to Azure feedback community.