Microsoft To Do synchronization problems

Question

Microsoft To Do synchronization problems

MDee 10

For a week or so To Do has terrible synch problems for me, and checking recent reviews on play store - that's not just a me problem. The issue is synchronization between the android app and windows desktop app - changes in one, do not reflect in the other. At least not completely, not always, not fully, sometimes it's synching, sometimes not; tasks set to repeat every day also seem to have a problem when checked as done, even on the same app/device - they do not reappear as a task for tomorrow, at least not for many hours (it's supposed to be instantanious, and it used to be). Task order is also not synching, but that's the least of the issues.

When clicking "synchronization" on desktop it takes a long while for it do be done, on mobile app it seems to be stuck in a constant synching process/issue. Few days ago I used to have a little warning sign on my desktop app saying there are issues with synching, after few reinstalls trying to fix it - warning is gone but problems persist. Tasks still somewhat synch on midnight, or after absolute clearing of data and re-installing the mobile app, but I can't keep doing that every time I want to make sure my tasks are in the same state on both my phone and PC.

Are there known issues with synchronization right now? It would be wonderful to get any info/help/access to support. General Microsoft support said they can't help me with To Do specifically and To Do's help article and FAQ are majorly outdated (options shown in screenshots there simply do not exist in To Do nowadays (like accessing the support or chat function from within the app). And if you're abondoning this app, it would be curtious to let us know so we can at least export our precious data before it's too late.

moved to Microsoft 365 and Office | To Do | For home

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Answer 1

Chloe-V 9,210 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi MDee,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been experiencing these synchronization issues for several days. I understand how frustrating this can be, especially when Microsoft To Do is used as a daily task manager and changes are not staying consistent between your Android device and Windows PC.

Based on your description, this does not appear to be the expected behavior of Microsoft To Do. The app should normally sync tasks across devices when the same account is used, so delayed sync, recurring tasks not appearing again, or changes not reflecting between mobile and desktop may indicate a synchronization issue either with the service or with the account’s task data.

Before clearing app data or reinstalling again, I recommend checking Microsoft To Do on the web and comparing whether the tasks there match your phone or PC. This can help confirm which version has the most up-to-date data and may help avoid losing any unsynced changes.

You may also submit feedback directly through the Microsoft Feedback Portal here: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/post/?page=1&sort=newest

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

Thank you for your understanding.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

MDee 10 Reputation points

2026-07-05T11:31:33.7566667+00:00
Hello, thank you for your answer.

I made test taks on PC, web and mobile, here are the results:

tasks made on PC do appear on the web version of To Do very quickly and vice versa. Same with deleting them + reocurring tasks work correctly.

tasks made on PC or web appear on mobile app but after a sizable delay, multiple minutes, sometimes hours. Tasks deleted on web or PC seem to take hours to delete on mobile. Reaccuring daily tasks have a problem on mobile as in not showing for "tomorrow" for at least few hours too. These problems seem to solve themselves within those few hours (tasks and their status becomes consistent with web/PC), but that's far from a desirable behaviour.

tasks made, edited or deleted on mobile also do not update, or at least not quickly on the web or pc (so deleting tasks, checking them as done, creating new tasks)

The problem seems to have root in the android app, and it seems to be confimed by recent play store reviews (mentioning synch issues) vs microsoft store reviews (no such issues mentioned).

Mobile is where I need To Do working correctly the most (checking my tasks on the go) so this really worries me. Any help dealing with mobile app pdirectly? I have already reinstalled it, cleared both cashes and data information multiple times. Network is not the problem since I use the same one for my PC/web versions that work correctly. My phone uses Android 16 and To Do app is updated.
Chloe-V 9,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-05T23:36:06.79+00:00
Hi MDee,

Thank you for the detailed update and for testing this across PC, web, and mobile.

Based on your results, it does seem that the web and Windows versions are syncing correctly, while the delay is mainly happening in the Android app. Since you have already reinstalled the app, cleared cache/data, confirmed that the network is not the issue, and the app is updated, this looks less like a basic local setup issue and more like an Android app/service-side synchronization behavior.

One additional Android-specific setting worth checking is whether Microsoft To Do is allowed to run and sync in the background:

Open Android Settings > Apps > Microsoft To Do

Check Battery and set it to Unrestricted / Not optimized if available

Check Mobile data & Wi-Fi and make sure Background data is enabled

Reopen Microsoft To Do and test whether newly created or completed tasks sync more reliably

Please avoid repeatedly clearing app data if you have unsynced changes, as this may risk losing local task updates that have not yet reached the web version.

As this forum is a user-to-user support platform, moderators and contributors cannot directly access To Do service logs or investigate account-specific sync records. If the issue continues after checking the Android background sync settings, I recommend reporting it through the Send Feedback and including the details you shared here: Android version, To Do app version, that web/Windows sync works correctly, and that Android-to-web/PC sync is delayed or incomplete.

Thank you for your patience, and I understand how concerning this is when To Do is used as a daily task manager.
Ambrose 15 Reputation points

2026-07-07T08:17:50.2233333+00:00

Good morning Chloe,

I've tried these attempts myself for Android on mobile, and even tried to force stop after enabling unrestricted battery usage and background data usage, but nothing worked.

I do manage to get notices on the mobile app stating it synced recently such as "Synced 4 minutes ago" with a amber dot beside it, but it is not the case. Many tasks have not been synced.

What MDee has said about whether the app is being discontinued or not is a good question. Because I don't want to risk losing data. With that said, the "Export your info" on the About section doesn't even work on the desktop app.

The app has been very useful, but if it's not going to be maintained through software updates and its documentation, then we need to be informed so we can make the best move going forward.

Kind regards.
MDee 10 Reputation points

2026-07-07T09:05:53.3066667+00:00

@Chloe-V The issue resolved by itself, before I applied your reccommendations, so it suggests it was a problem on Microsoft part - not my device or the android system. Synching in the settings finally stopped looping, it said it finished and everything seems to be working correctly for the past day or two on all platforms for me.

I've submitted feedback via the link you posted, sadly with no responses.

@Ambrose I had the same thing happen to me (before it started working again) with in settings synchronization saying it's done, but with an amber dot next to it + nothing really synching correctly. I so wish to know if the app is planned on being supported in the future or not. I'd hate to see it go, but I'd hate losing my data more.
Ambrose 15 Reputation points

2026-07-07T14:00:20.2633333+00:00

@MDee indeed, knowing about future support would be beneficial.

Given you said that it seemed to resolve itself, I gave the app more of a tinker and got it working.

What I did differently, was hold the "Sync" button in the Settings for a few seconds, rather than tap it. Which then gave a different prompt of "Syncing...". For which it properly synced in the end.

Not sure if you were holding it before on your earliest attempts MDee?
MDee 10 Reputation points

2026-07-07T14:27:40.2466667+00:00

@Ambrose I have honestly no idea if I changed my "method" from tapping to pressing, (at some point I became quite frantic) so I can't say. I'm glad it started working for you too though!
Chloe-V 9,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-07T23:31:49.6633333+00:00

Hi Ambrose,

Thank you for sharing your findings. I'm glad to hear you were able to get synchronization working again.

May I ask if the app is still syncing correctly after using the long-press method on the Sync button? Any additional observations would be helpful for others experiencing the same issue.
Chloe-V 9,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-07T23:32:07.83+00:00

Hi MDee,

Thank you for the update. I'm glad to hear the synchronization issue has remained resolved on your devices.

Could you please confirm whether everything is still working as expected? Also, have you noticed any further syncing delays or inconsistencies since your last update?
Ambrose 15 Reputation points

2026-07-08T10:06:37.13+00:00

@MDee I get that 😆, but thanks. And also thanks for raising this Q&A question too.

@Chloe-V the app indeed does still sync correctly after the long-press method. The amber dot I had mentioned before disappeared after pressing the button using the method mentioned after as well. The operation of the app is back to normal.
Chloe-V 9,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-09T06:24:04.1033333+00:00

Hi Ambrose,

Thank you for confirming. I'm glad to hear the app is syncing normally again and that the amber dot has disappeared.

I appreciate you sharing the outcome and the workaround you found. This information may help other users experiencing the same issue.

If everything continues to work as expected, I believe we can consider this issue resolved. Should you notice any further synchronization problems, please feel free to let us know.
OE89 0 Reputation points

2026-07-10T16:26:50.11+00:00

I don't think we should consider this issue resolved as we never addressed the root cause of the issue or fixed it. Even though the method described above worked for me too, users shouldn't have to search forums to find a work around to get apps to function properly. This issue would be resolved once Microsoft fixes the bug and the app functions as it's intended to....