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Fix Microsoft Planner Comments Not Moving Between Plans

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users report that task comments disappear when tasks are moved between different Microsoft Planner plans, and task comments are missing from standard Planner exports. Additionally, users need to know if there is a way to recover these lost comments.

Product: Microsoft Planner
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Moving tasks across different plans or attempting to export project data for reporting.
Observed behavior: Comments fail to transfer to the new plan and do not appear in data exports, leaving users without a built-in method to undo the move or restore lost comments.

Before you start

Before attempting to move any tasks in Microsoft Planner, ensure you manually review the original task comments, as the system does not automatically migrate them to the new destination.

Solution 1Recommended

Retrieve Lost Comments from Outlook Group Conversations

Since Planner comments are stored as email threads in the Microsoft 365 Group, you can often find missing comments by checking the associated Outlook group history.

Microsoft Planner ties comments directly to the original plan's conversation thread rather than the task itself. Even if the task is moved, the historical comments remain in the original group's mailbox.

Open Outlook Groups

Log into Microsoft Outlook and scroll down to the 'Groups' section in the left navigation pane.

Select the Original Plan's Group

Click on the Microsoft 365 Group that corresponds to the original Planner plan where the task was initially created.

Search for the Task Thread

Use the search bar within the group's mailbox to look up the specific task name. You will find the email thread containing all previously submitted comments.

Solution 2

Manually Transfer Comments to the Task Description

To prevent data loss before moving a task, copy your comments into the Notes section, which does successfully transfer between plans.

Solution 3

Use Power Automate to Export and Backup Comments

Because native Planner exports do not include comments, you can build a Power Automate flow to extract and save them externally.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do comments disappear when I move a task to another plan?

Planner comments are fundamentally tied to the Microsoft 365 Group email thread associated with the original plan. Because they are part of that group's specific exchange mailbox, they do not automatically migrate when you reassign the task to a different plan and a different Microsoft 365 Group.

Can I recover deleted or lost comments in Microsoft Planner?

There is no built-in undo button or direct recovery option within the Planner interface for deleted comments. However, you can often find 'lost' comments by checking the Outlook conversation history of the plan's Microsoft 365 Group, or by asking your IT admin to restore recently deleted group emails.

Does exporting a Planner plan to Excel include task comments?

No, the native 'Export plan to Excel' feature in Microsoft Planner does not support exporting task comments. To capture comments in an export, you must use a third-party tool or manually set up a Microsoft Power Automate flow to extract the comment data into an Excel spreadsheet or SharePoint list.

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