How to Update a Microsoft 365 User Photo with Active Directory
Question details
A Microsoft 365 user profile photo fails to update or gets overwritten due to synchronization conflicts with an on-premises Active Directory or hybrid deployment environment.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- An administrator or user attempts to change a Microsoft 365 profile photo, but the changes do not reflect in the portal or keep reverting.
- Observed behavior
- The Microsoft 365 portal does not show the new profile photo because the on-premises Active Directory synchronization process overwrites the cloud profile changes with local data.
Verify whether your organization uses an on-premises Active Directory or a hybrid directory synchronization process, and ensure you have administrator privileges to access the Exchange admin center.
Update the User Photo via the Exchange Admin Center
Use the cloud-based Exchange admin center to bypass portal-level glitches and manually enforce the profile photo update for a specific user.
In organizations with a hybrid deployment, cloud profile changes made by users in the portal can sometimes be blocked or overwritten by local directory syncs. Administrators can use the Exchange admin center as a direct method to force the photo update.
Log in to the Microsoft 365 portal with administrator credentials and navigate to the Exchange admin center.
Click on your administrator profile photo located in the upper right corner of the screen.
Choose 'Another user' from the drop-down menu, and select the specific user whose photo needs updating from the directory list.
Click on 'Edit information' on the user's details page, and then select 'Change' under the current profile picture.
Upload the correct image file from your computer and click 'Save' to apply the changes.
Investigate On-Premises AD Synchronization Overwrites
Prevent on-premises Active Directory from reverting cloud changes by updating the user's photo directly in your local environment.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Microsoft 365 profile photo keep reverting to the old one?
In organizations using a hybrid setup, the on-premises Active Directory is usually the source of authority. If you update your photo in the cloud portal, the next background sync cycle may overwrite your new photo with the old one stored in the local Active Directory.
How long does it take for a new profile photo to appear in Microsoft 365?
After successfully updating a user photo in the Exchange admin center or via directory sync, it can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours for the image cache to clear and display the new photo across all apps like Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint.
How can I update the thumbnailPhoto attribute directly in my on-premises AD?
Administrators can update the thumbnailPhoto attribute in on-premises Active Directory by using specific PowerShell cmdlets like Set-ADUser, or by using third-party AD management tools to upload the image file before triggering a sync.
