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Fix Microsoft Project Task Approvals Stuck in Pending
Question details
User needs to resolve an issue where Project Web App task updates and actual work remain in a pending state despite being submitted and approved.
- Product
- Microsoft Project / Project Web App
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing and approving task updates and actual work submissions in Project Web App or Project Professional.
- Observed behavior
- Task updates and actual work continue to display as Pending. Project Professional processes task updates indefinitely without displaying any visible queue jobs.
Ensure you have administrator access to the Microsoft 365 admin center, as resolving hidden backend queue issues requires admin privileges to contact support.
Contact Microsoft Support via Microsoft 365 Admin Center
Use this solution to have Microsoft Support investigate and clear invisible backend queue jobs that are preventing task approvals from processing.
When task updates remain pending indefinitely and there are no visible queue jobs in Project Web App or Project Professional, it indicates a backend synchronization stall. Since administrators cannot clear invisible jobs, Microsoft Support must intervene to restart the queued jobs and restore communication.
Go to admin.microsoft.com and log in using your Microsoft 365 global administrator or support administrator credentials.
Click on the 'Support' icon in the left-hand navigation menu, then select 'Help & support' to open the support panel.
Type 'Project Web App task approvals pending indefinitely' into the search bar and review the automated diagnostic suggestions provided by the system.
Click on 'Contact support' at the bottom of the panel. Request that the support engineer investigate the Project Online or Project Professional backend for stuck queued jobs and task-update communication errors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my tasks get stuck in Pending in Project Web App?
This usually occurs due to a stalled backend queue job or a synchronization failure between Project Professional and Project Online, which prevents the system from finalizing the approval status.
Can I manually clear the Project Web App queue?
Yes, if the jobs are visible. A PWA administrator can navigate to PWA Settings > Manage Queue Jobs to cancel or retry stuck jobs. However, if no jobs are visible, Microsoft Support must handle it from the backend.
How long does it usually take for task updates to process normally?
Under normal working conditions, task updates and approvals should process within a few seconds to a few minutes. If they remain pending for several hours, a queue issue has likely occurred.
