Refresh Updated Security Group Name in SharePoint Online Sites

Daniel Chee 251

Hi MS Q&A,

Seeking advice and recommendation if it is possible to via PowerShell to manually refresh a renamed Security Group name reflected against SharePoint Online Sites or it will automatically reflect updated name over time?

Example:
Security Group A had been granted permission to a SharePoint Online site.
Security Group A has been renamed via AAD to Security Group B.
SharePoint Online site still shows Security Group A and does not refresh to display updated name.

People Picker shows updated Security Group name subsequently after rename, however re-adding the same Security Group will still show up with the old name.
The displayed name was only able to update once purging the Security Group from the All People listing (.../_layouts/15/people.aspx?MembershipGroupId=0), however this is not preferred in cases where the Security Group might be explicitly associated on multiple subsites / items and attracts increased overheads to track and re-apply explicit permissions.

Appreciate any advice or information.

Thank you.

9 answers

Jake Harvey 11 Reputation points

2022-02-15T16:59:41.747+00:00

The solution is to remove the group from the site collection.

I had a hunch (based on some other, similar SharePoint issues regarding syncing and Azure) and just went through the steps. And then coincidentally had to perform the same action in our production site because someone accidentally flipped two words in the Azure name.

The basic steps are to visit the list of people and groups, in the "all people" view they don't link to anywhere (good luck finding it if you have a lot of each).

https://your-tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/your-site-name/_layouts/15/people.aspx?MembershipGroupId=0

Locate the group and delete it. Then go back to your SharePoint group, and re-add the Azure group and the name will be correct.

I'm jumping into a meeting, hopefully that helps everyone. Otherwise leave a comment and I'll try to clarify.
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2 people found this answer helpful.
Jonas Keunecke 1 Reputation point

2022-04-14T23:57:10.997+00:00

Thanks alot, worked great

Brian 31 Reputation points

2022-10-26T23:19:58.067+00:00

How does this work as a practical solution though?

If I've used Azure Security groups to define permissions in SharePoint and then for <business reason> I need to change the name of my Azure Security groups I can no longer follow a path to determine who has access to a given folder within SharePoint. The group name SharePoint lists no longer exists in Azure so I cannot determine who the members are. If I delete the old/wrong name from SharePoint then I've revoked access to whomever previously had access so I don't have any way to know what the new name is.

Is the best practice just never to use Azure groups for SharePoint permissions? It seems like such a waste to have to manage two separate sets of groups. Is there not a better way to handle this?

Jake Harvey 11 Reputation points

2023-05-23T12:22:42.53+00:00

Brian, in my example you're deleting the Azure group from the site collection. You just add the Azure group back to the SharePoint group and the name updates and you don't have to worry about fixing permissions in other spaces. Redundant groups aren't fun, but I believe the alternative is what you described. A direct link to the Azure group means in some circumstances you'd break connections to SharePoint resources if you remove it.

Luke-8959 0 Reputation points

2024-06-04T01:46:04.1666667+00:00

Tried this but did not resolve.
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Kuratli Ueli DIF_IDS 5 Reputation points

2023-05-23T09:27:03.8933333+00:00

Any solution on this?
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1 person found this answer helpful.
Jake Harvey 11 Reputation points

2023-05-23T12:30:22.8833333+00:00

Kuratli, it's not perfect, but my solution is the only thing I know to work. Removing the name from the site collection and re-adding it updates the display name in SharePoint. So using direct connections between Azure and SharePoint resources can be problematic. At my job we have 1:1 SharePoint and Azure groups. For example, Azure: "SP-Group 1", SharePoint: "Group 1". It's not optimal, but adding users to the Azure group grants them all the permissions in SharePoint because of the connection. And removing the Azure group from the site collection is only a minor nuisance since it can immediately be added back to the SP group's permissions.
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Elsie Lu_MSFT 9,791 Reputation points

2021-09-07T06:50:52.277+00:00

Hi @Daniel Chee ,

I did a test, first created a security group Sion1, and it can be found:

Then change the group name to Sion2:

==========================

You can try to refresh the page in the Admin center and the permission page. Then wait for some time, usually the Group name will be updated automatically.

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Daniel Chee 251 Reputation points

2021-09-14T12:29:08.227+00:00

Thanks @Elsie Lu_MSFT ,

Yes, the updated Security Group Display Name will reflect subsequently in the People Picker Listing, however the old name still gets displayed and shown against existing access.

Example:
Grant Security Group Sion1 to a SharePoint Group or explicitly against a Content Item / Area (e.g. File).
Update Security Group Sion1 to Sion2.
People Picker will automatically show the updated Security Group Name subsequently from the drop down list.
However, when reviewing existing access within the applied SharePoint Group or explicit access against a Content Item / Area, it will still list Scion1 as having access instead of Scion2.

Hope the above example helps clarify.

Appreciate any further advice and information.

Thank you.

Elsie Lu_MSFT 9,791 Reputation points

2021-09-16T09:25:31.417+00:00

Hi @Daniel Chee , sorry for the delay. Does this issue still exist? What I tested in the list is also the updated name. Or would you like to share some screenshots? :)

Daniel Chee 251 Reputation points

2021-09-17T07:27:12.877+00:00

Hi @Elsie Lu_MSFT , yes the issue is still persisting, the AD Security Group name still reflects the old name even after its name has been updated and remain the same behaviour till date.

Providing following screen shots to help assist with further clarification:

01) A Security Group "SP-Demo-OldName" has been added to a SharePoint Site Permission as shown above.

02) The Security Group has been renamed to "SP-Demo-NewName".

03) After the name has been updated, People Picker now picks up the updated name as shown below, however note that the existing Security Group displayed in the SharePoint Site Permission is still listing the old name.

04) Attempts to re-apply or update privileges to the updated Security Group or removing the existing Security Group Permission and then re-adding it back does not help to refresh the updated name.

Hope the above information helps.

Please feel free to let me know if you need further information / examples.

Thank you.

Mowery, Daniel 1 Reputation point

2022-02-04T19:12:56.687+00:00

Did you ever get this resolved? We are experiencing the same behavior in our tenant.
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timo 1 Reputation point

2022-02-14T01:58:54.587+00:00

Same issue, any resolution?
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Philip Sumesgutner 1 Reputation point

2022-02-15T14:47:43.44+00:00

Same issue with one of my tenants. Any solution?
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Refresh Updated Security Group Name in SharePoint Online Sites

9 answers