Upgrade Azure Active Directory Connect issue

Question

I have a Windows 2016 domain controller that still has Azure AD Connect version 2.2.1.0 on it that broke awhile back when I tried to do an upgrade. When opening it says to click Upgrade and I do but an error comes up that says "Upgrade cannot proceed because the Azure Active Directory Connector is missing".

What is the best procedure to fix this without losing any settings or causing any issues with my logins in the cloud.

Thank you for any help or advice on this issue.

Answer 1

Hello Chad Sullivan,

Thanks for contacting MS Q&A. I will be able to help you with resolving your issues.

You are in a delicate situation where Azure AD Connect is partially broken, and a direct upgrade fails due to the missing Azure AD connector. You aim to restore a functioning AAD Connect setup without losing existing configurations or interrupting identity synchronization and user logins in the cloud.

Here’s a reliable, step-by-step method to recover AAD Connect without losing settings or disrupting synchronization:

• Back up the current configuration (if you can): Check if this code works “Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Initial ” or you can try exporting the config file by checking this docs part “ cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Azure AD Sync\Bin"

.\miisclient.exe

Check for existing connectors in the MIIS client; this will tell you what’s missing.

Before making changes, document:

• Synchronization rules

• OU filtering

• Connectors (AD & AAD)

• Service account in use

• Any custom sync rules

This info may be visible via miisclient.exe.

Download the latest Azure AD Connect installer.

Run the downloaded AzureADConnect.msi, and select:

• Repair or Reinstall (not upgrade)

• Choose "Use existing settings" when prompted

This will attempt to rebuild the connectors and configuration based on existing settings in the database (ADSync.mdf).

Kindly confirm if this has resolved your concern.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Siri

Answer 2

Hello Chad Sullivan,

Thanks for your question

To add, an upgrade on the same server that has the old version of Entra Connect is not recommended. I will recommend you thoroughly review your environment.

You may need to consider rebuilding. What you need to plan for is a swing migration. When the staging server syncs once or twice and everything looks good, then make that one active and set the old server in staging mode. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/hybrid/connect/how-to-upgrade-previous-version?source=recommendations#swing-migration

If you have made a custom configuration and your staging server doesn't have it, follow the steps under Move a custom configuration from the active server to the staging server.

You can also get hints by collecting the Event Application Logs, and you can validate if the Connector is missing by running:

Get-ADSyncConnector -Identifier "<Identifier>”

In the meantime also check if the troubleshooter will be of assistance:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed-cca7d1b6-65a9-3d98-426b-e9f927e1eb4d

Also Most likely, if miisclient is not available, view the status on the portal to know your last state.

You can mark it 'Accept Answer' and 'Upvote' if this helped you

Regards,

Abiola