Start-ADSyncSyncCycle

The cmdlet every hybrid admin has typed a thousand times. Go ahead, press Enter. Then read the rest of the page for when it doesn't do what you hoped.

Administrator: Windows PowerShell
Next scheduled cycle in --:--, roughly. Your scheduler has its own ideas.
For the ticket notes: It's replicating.

Build the command you actually need

Pick where you're running it and what you want to happen, then copy. Run it from an elevated PowerShell session. The ADSync module only exists on the Entra Connect server, so remote runs go through Invoke-Command.

Where are you?
Sync type

Delta picks up changes since the last run. Initial reprocesses everything.

Options
Generated command

          

          

            
            
          

          
Initial reruns full import and full sync on every connector. In a large directory that can take hours. Use it after changing sync rules, OU filtering, or attribute filtering, not to nudge a single user.

        

      

    

  


  

    

      
Why hasn't my change synced?

      
Work down the list. These are in rough order of how often each one turns out to be the answer.

      
    
        
  1. 
          
    AD hasn't replicated yet
    
          
    You changed the user on one domain controller, and Entra Connect reads from another. Wait for AD replication, or force it with repadmin /syncall /AdeP, then sync.
    
        
    2. 
        
  2. 
          
    The cycle started but hasn't finished
    
          
    Result: Success only means the cycle was kicked off. Check Get-ADSyncConnectorRunStatus. If it returns anything, the sync is still running.
    
        
    3. 
        
  3. 
          
    The object is out of scope
    
          
    OU filtering or group filtering excludes it. Moving a user to an unsynced OU looks like a delete to Entra, and the cloud account gets soft-deleted.
    
        
    4. 
        
  4. 
          
    You're on the staging server
    
          
    A staging-mode server imports and syncs but never exports. Run Get-ADSyncScheduler and check that StagingModeEnabled is False.
    
        
    5. 
        
  5. 
          
    The export hit an error
    
          
    Duplicate UPNs or proxyAddresses are the usual culprits. Open Synchronization Service Manager, select the latest export run, and look at the errors. They also appear in the Entra admin center under Entra Connect.
    
        
    6. 
        
  6. 
          
    You edited it in the wrong place
    
          
    For synced objects, on-premises AD is the source of authority. Changes made in the cloud for those attributes either fail or get overwritten on the next cycle.
    
        
    7. 
        
  7. 
          
    It's a password
    
          
    Password hash sync runs on its own loop, about every two minutes, separate from the delta cycle. Running a sync cycle won't speed it up.
    
        
    8. 
        
  8. 
          
    It synced, and the cloud is catching up
    
          
    Exchange Online, Teams, and especially the offline address book can lag well behind Entra ID. If the change is correct in the Entra admin center, the sync did its job.
    
        
    9. 
      

    

  


  

    

      
Reference

      

        

          
Delta vs. Initial

          
-PolicyType Delta imports and processes only what changed since the last run. It's what the scheduler runs every 30 minutes by default, and it's what you want nearly every time.

          
-PolicyType Initial runs a full import and full synchronization on every connector. Save it for after you change sync rules or filtering, since those changes don't apply to existing objects until everything is reevaluated.

          
Common messages

          
Sync is already running. Cannot start a new run till this one completes. means exactly that. Wait, or check what's running with Get-ADSyncConnectorRunStatus.

          
The term 'Start-ADSyncSyncCycle' is not recognized means you're not on the Entra Connect server, or the module isn't loaded. Run Import-Module ADSync or use the remote command above.

        

        

          
Companion cmdlets

          

            

              
CmdletWhat it's for

              
                
Get-ADSyncSchedulerShows the sync interval, next run time (in UTC), whether the scheduler is enabled, and whether staging mode is on.

                
Set-ADSyncScheduler -SyncCycleEnabled $falsePauses the scheduler while you make changes. Set it back to $true when you're done.

                
Get-ADSyncConnectorRunStatusReturns the running connector during a sync. Returns nothing when idle.

                
Stop-ADSyncSyncCycleStops the cycle that's currently running.

                
Get-ADSyncConnectorLists your connectors, including the on-premises AD and Entra ID connector names.