How to Report a SharePoint Online Profile Image URL Encoding Bug
Question details
The user needs to report a backend bug where SharePoint Online search profile images fail to load for external users due to unencoded hash characters in the query string.
- Product
- SharePoint Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to load or view search profile images for external users whose account names contain special characters like #EXT#.
- Observed behavior
- Profile images fail to load due to unencoded hash characters in the accountName query-string, but loading succeeds when the characters are manually encoded in the URL.
Gather your reproducible steps, affected browser details, and sample URLs with sensitive personal data removed to ensure a smooth support ticket submission.
Submit a Service Request in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
The most effective way to resolve platform-level URL encoding bugs in SharePoint Online is by escalating the issue directly to Microsoft Support.
Because this is a server-side URL encoding issue concerning how SharePoint handles external user account queries, it cannot be permanently fixed through user-side settings. You must raise a service request to have Microsoft engineering address the root cause.
Navigate to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and log in using an account with administrator privileges.
Click on the 'Support' section in the left-hand navigation menu and select 'Help & support' or 'New service request'.
Detail the issue by explaining that profile images fail for external users because the accountName query-string value contains unencoded hash characters (such as #EXT#).
Include your reproducible steps, browser details, and sample URLs (with personal data omitted). Be sure to mention that manually encoding the characters makes the profile image load successfully.
Submit your service request so the Microsoft support staff can investigate the behavior and escalate the SharePoint Online bug to the engineering team.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do external user profile images fail to load in SharePoint Online?
This typically occurs because external user account names often contain special characters, such as the hashtag (#) in #EXT#. If the URL query string is not properly encoded by SharePoint, web browsers cannot process the image link.
Can I manually fix the SharePoint URL encoding issue?
As a temporary troubleshooting workaround, you can manually encode the URL characters (for example, replacing '#' with '%23') in the browser's address bar to load the image. However, a permanent fix requires Microsoft to update the backend SharePoint code.
Who can submit a bug report to Microsoft 365 support?
Only users with designated administrative roles, such as a Global Administrator or Support Administrator, can create and manage service requests in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
