How to Fix SharePoint Sites Not Updating in Office Applications
Question details
Office applications are not reflecting recent changes to followed or unfollowed SharePoint sites.
- Product
- Microsoft Office
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- A user has removed old SharePoint sites and followed new ones, but the updated site list has not synchronized with their desktop Office applications.
- Observed behavior
- Old SharePoint sites continue to display in the Office interface when attempting to open or save files, indicating a synchronization delay.
Ensure you have a stable internet connection and verify that you are logged into the correct Microsoft 365 account across all your Office applications.
Wait for Backend Synchronization and Re-login
Allow time for the Microsoft 365 servers to process the changes, then force a manual refresh by signing out and back in.
Microsoft 365 systems do not always sync site lists instantly. It is common for changes made in SharePoint to take some time to propagate to desktop applications.
Allow up to 24 hours for the SharePoint backend list to fully process and update your followed sites.
Open any Office application (such as Word or Excel), click on your profile picture or name in the top right corner, and select 'Sign out'.
Restart the Office application and sign back in using your Microsoft 365 credentials. This forces the application to fetch the most recent data from the server.
Submit a Support Request via the Admin Center
If the site list remains unchanged after 24 hours and a re-login, an administrator must escalate the synchronization failure to Microsoft.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do unfollowed SharePoint sites still appear in Word and Excel?
This happens because Office desktop applications cache your site list locally to improve performance. Changes made directly in SharePoint can take up to 24 hours to sync to this local cache.
Is there a way to force an immediate sync of my SharePoint sites in Office?
While there is no dedicated 'sync now' button for the site list, you can often prompt a refresh by completely signing out of your Office account within the app, closing the program, and signing back in.
What should I do if my SharePoint site list is still incorrect after waiting a full day?
If waiting 24 hours and re-authenticating does not solve the issue, the sync is likely stuck on the backend server. You will need to ask your Microsoft 365 Administrator to open a support ticket in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
