User not syncing — troubleshooting

User not syncing — troubleshooting

Use this guide when a user exists in ADAdmin but is not appearing (or is appearing incorrectly) in a connected platform such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra.

First: is your cloud sync paused?

Check this before anything else, especially over the summer. Once a year — typically from mid-July until the start of term — your school's cloud sync pauses, and Realsmart stops sending anything to Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra.

Open Users. If there's a Cloud sync is paused until … banner at the top of the page, that is your answer: the account was created correctly and simply hasn't been sent yet. It will appear in your platform automatically when sync resumes on the date shown, and nothing is lost.

None of the steps below apply while that banner is showing — the log will hold no error for the user, because no attempt was made.

If a single account genuinely can't wait, Send now on the user's page pushes them through. See Cloud sync is paused.

If there's no banner, carry on below.

The user doesn't exist in ADAdmin at all

If the person isn't in ADAdmin yet — not even showing up in Users — that's a step further back than the platform-sync steps below, which assume the ADAdmin record already exists. Likely causes:

• The MIS import hasn't run yet, or is set to Preview. With Preview chosen on School settings → Sync services, the fetch runs every time on schedule but nothing is actually imported. See MIS sync preview to check the mode and see exactly what the next real import would bring in.
• They're being held by an import filter/gate. Pre-admission students only import once their application is accepted — see Import pre-admission students. Staff only import once they're a current employee in the MIS, unless Import pending mentors is switched on and their recorded start date qualifies. Both settings have a Preview that shows exactly who's held back right now and why.
• Your school's Wonde/MIS scopes don't include them. The sync can only see what your Wonde connection is permitted to see — see Wonde data.

To check: look the person up in Wonde data by name or MIS ID to confirm the origin record genuinely exists there and has the fields you'd expect (a 403 on a resource means the permitted scopes don't currently cover it). Then cross-reference that same MIS ID against the Logs area — matching on MIS ID tells you whether the sync has actually seen this person and, if so, what it did. See Wonde data for the full cross-reference workflow.

Step 1 — Check the sync log for that user {#step-1}

1. Open Sync status in the sidebar.
2. In the Recent activity table, filter by Errors.
3. Look for the user's name or username in the Entity column.
4. Read the Outcome column for the error message.

Common errors and what they mean:

Step 2 — Check the user's status in ADAdmin {#step-2}

Go to Users, find the user, and check their status:

• If Suspended in ADAdmin → the user will be suspended in connected platforms too. See User statuses.
• If Active but not in Google/Entra → a sync hasn't run yet or a sync error blocked them.

Step 3 — Trigger a manual sync {#step-3}

If the error was transient (a network blip, a temporary API failure), a manual sync may resolve it:

1. Go to Sync status.
2. Select Sync now for the affected platform.
3. Wait 2–3 minutes, then recheck the log.

See Trigger a manual sync for full steps.

Step 4 — Fix data issues in ADAdmin {#step-4}

If the log shows a data error (invalid username, missing school domain, etc.):

1. Go to Users → Edit the affected user.
2. Correct the field that caused the error (usually the username).
3. Save. The change queues automatically.
4. Trigger a manual sync to pick it up immediately.

Step 5 — Escalate platform-level issues {#step-5}

Some errors require action in the platform itself, not in ADAdmin:

• "Account already exists" — if a Google account was created manually with the same username, it must be renamed or deleted in Google Admin Console before ADAdmin can provision it.
• "Permission denied" — ADAdmin's Google or Entra service account may need permission changes. Contact your IT team or Realsmart support.
• Licence limits — add licences in Google Admin or Entra before the user can be created.

Still stuck?

If you've gone through these steps and the user still isn't syncing, contact Realsmart support with:

• The user's name and username
• The error message from the sync log
• The date and time of the failed sync attempt

Related

• Cloud sync is paused — what happens to my changes
• How syncing works
• View sync status and logs
• Trigger a manual sync
• Edit a user