How to work out where Edge's Cloud Sync data is coming from / how to make sure really ALL deleted

Question

Two threads on a really annoying (and usability) issue with Edge losing the Pin to Right Hand Side button on the Downloads dialog

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/answers/questions/5738922/edge-downloads-pin-button-is-missing - this was answered with some updates but then came back for some of us

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5787155/edge-downloads-pin-button-is-missing-(still) - I though I had a fix but cloud sync has frankly recreated the problem again

It seems now, after many days of testing, diagnostics, and other work which eventually always comes back to the issue coming back --- that there is some bad "configuration" setting/information getting sent up to the cloud sync that replicates this problem across machines over time!

I would like to absolutely 100% delete the cloud sync data and make sure the new sync data comes from one, trusted installation - but I can't work out where sync'd data is coming from (Android and Windows) and having done all I could to ensure it was sync'd from one device, the problem reoccurs after around 18 hours, implying something is getting sync'd with the "bad" data!

• Any way to physically delete the file using PowerShell?
• Any way to get logs of where the updates in the cloud sync data have come from?
• Any suggestions on how to fix an issue in Edge which manages to come back even after many steps to fix it? WITHOUT BINNING MY MICROSOFT ACCOUNT which is not feasible on many levels.

Answer 1

Edge sync does not expose file-level access to the cloud data, but there are supported ways to fully reset sync, verify which devices are contributing data, and check for issues that cause “bad” state to keep coming back.

1. To fully reset Edge cloud sync data

Use the built-in reset instead of trying to delete files with PowerShell:

1. On an affected device, open Edge and go to Settings > Profiles > Sync.
2. Select Re-sync data to this device.
3. If the issue persists, select Still having sync problems? Try another option and then choose Reset sync.
4. If a data reset is needed at the service side (for example due to cryptography errors), follow the guidance in Reset Microsoft Edge data in the cloud from the sync troubleshooting article.

This process clears the sync data stored in the Microsoft cloud for the signed-in account and forces Edge to rebuild it from the local profile, without needing to delete any physical files manually.

2. To see which devices are contributing sync data

Use the internal diagnostics pages:

1. In Edge, open edge://sync-internals.
2. On the Summary tab, confirm that sync is enabled for the profile.
3. Open the Sync Node Browser tab and expand Device info.
   • This shows the list of devices currently participating in sync (Windows, Android, etc.).
   • Any device listed here can reintroduce old or “bad” configuration back into the cloud.
4. Temporarily sign out of Edge or turn off sync on devices that should not contribute data, then perform a sync reset from a single “known good” device as above.
5. To check for service-side or encryption issues that can cause persistent problems

Some sync issues are caused by cryptography errors or tenant configuration:

1. In edge://sync-internals, review Type info and the Microsoft Entra account Key Status section.
2. If any of these appear:
   • MIP Result = "Success" together with a cryptographer error, or
   • MIP Result = "No permissions" then the service-side data likely needs a reset. Use the “Reset sync” flow and the guidance in Reset Microsoft Edge data in the cloud.
3. If other errors appear, there may be a server configuration issue, and support escalation may be required.
4. About deleting sync data with PowerShell

There is no supported method in the documentation to directly delete Edge cloud sync data files using PowerShell. Sync data is stored in Microsoft’s cloud and managed via the Edge UI and account/device dashboards, not via local file deletion. The recommended and supported approach is to use the Re-sync and Reset sync flows described above.

5. To see where sync is failing or blocked

If sync keeps reintroducing bad state, verify that it is not being blocked or altered by policies or network issues:

1. Check sign-in status: open edge://signin-internals and confirm the account is correctly signed in.
2. Check for policies that might affect sync: open edge://policy and review active policies, especially anything related to sync (for example, SyncDisabled, SyncTypesListDisabled, or history/favorites policies).
3. Confirm required service endpoints are reachable from the device (for example https://edge.microsoft.com and the cloud messaging endpoints listed in the sync troubleshooting article). If the sync endpoint cannot be reached or is intermittently blocked, sync state may not reset or propagate correctly.
4. To manage what is synced and from where

After resetting:

1. On the “trusted” device, go to Settings > Profiles > Sync and explicitly choose which data types to sync (favorites, settings, passwords, etc.).
2. On other devices, sign in and enable sync only after confirming the primary device is stable.
3. If needed, sign out of Edge on problematic devices via Settings and more > Settings > Profiles > Sign out so they stop contributing data until they are cleaned up.
4. Logs for “where updates came from”

The public documentation for Edge sync diagnostics focuses on:

• edge://sync-internals (Summary, Type info, Device info, Environment Info, Credentials)
• edge://signin-internals

These views show which devices are in the sync graph and the current sync status, but they do not provide a full audit trail of “this specific setting came from device X at time Y.” For deeper, tenant-level or service-side tracing, the documented next step is to contact Microsoft Edge support.

8. When an issue keeps coming back after fixes

Based on the documented guidance, the robust pattern to break a persistent bad state is:

1. Verify account licenses and sign-in are valid (Microsoft 365 and Azure, if applicable).
2. Sign out of Edge on all devices.
3. On one “clean” device:
   • Update Edge to a current version.
   • Use Reset sync to clear cloud data.
   • Reconfigure the desired settings (such as the Downloads UI behavior) locally.
4. Confirm sync is healthy on that device via edge://sync-internals.
5. One by one, sign in and enable sync on other devices, verifying that the issue does not reappear after each device is added.
6. If the problem reappears immediately after adding a specific device, that device’s local profile is likely reintroducing the bad configuration; recreate that profile before rejoining sync.

This approach avoids needing to change the Microsoft account itself and relies only on supported sync reset and diagnostics mechanisms.

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References:

• Diagnose and fix Microsoft Edge sync issues
• Sign in to sync Microsoft Edge across devices
• Microsoft Edge enterprise sync FAQ
• Microsoft Edge, browsing data, and privacy
• User data and privacy in Microsoft Edge