Clarification - Synced user conversion

[J-a-k-o-b]

I don't get it why/how the conversation of synced users should be possible and what the usecases are... Is this a feature to make a hybrid identity to a cloud only user?
If so, is this only usable using Entra Cloud Sync to sync users? I can't imagine a way how to "unsync" a user using entra connect.

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Document Details

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• ID: 87999564-0514-26cf-1b85-86f4a59d4c69
• Version Independent ID: 87999564-0514-26cf-1b85-86f4a59d4c69
• Content: Convert external users to internal users (Preview) - Microsoft Entra ID
• Content Source: docs/identity/users/convert-external-users-internal.md
• Service: entra-id
• Sub-service: users
• GitHub Login: @barclayn
• Microsoft Alias: barclayn

[TPavanBalaji]

@J-a-k-o-b
It would be great if you could add a link to the documentation you are following for these steps? This would help us redirect the issue to the appropriate team. Thanks!

[J-a-k-o-b]

Sorry, didn't recognized that this issue seems not to be linked to the article from where I've opened it. The docs site I'm talking about is this one: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/users/convert-external-users-internal#synced-user-conversion

[TPavanBalaji]

@J-a-k-o-b
Thanks for your feedback! We will investigate and update as appropriate.

[SaibabaBalapur-MSFT]

Hi @J-a-k-o-b I'd recommend working closer with our support team via an Azure support request. Or you can leverage our Q&A forum by posting your issue there so our community, and MVPs can further assist you in troubleshooting this issue or finding potential workarounds.Teams Q&A forum for technical questions about the configuration and administration of Microsoft Teams on Windows.Microsoft Teams Community forum

[J-a-k-o-b]

This is a general question which should be answered in general to avoid unnecessary support calls. Maybe you can answer it in a kind of requirements section.

[SaibabaBalapur-MSFT]

@J-a-k-o-b
Synced user conversion is a feature that allows you to convert a user from an external user to an internal user in Entra AD. This feature is useful when you want to move a user from a federated identity provider to Entra AD, or when you want to convert a user from a cloud-only identity to a synced identity.

You can use Entra AD Connect to synchronize your on-premises identities to Azure AD. When you convert a user from an external user to an internal user, Entra AD Connect will synchronize the user's attributes to Entra AD, and the user will be managed in Entra AD going forward.

Regarding your question about "unsyncing" a user, you can achieve this by disabling directory synchronization for the user in Entra AD Connect. Once directory synchronization is disabled for the user, any changes made to the user's attributes in Entra AD will no longer be synchronized to your on-premises directory.

I hope this helps clarify your questions.

Please Note, GitHub forum is dedicated for Microsoft documentation related issues.

[J-a-k-o-b]

Sorry, i don't get it. The article mentions that you can use this feature for synced users, which are hybrid identities. I don't get it what conversation could be done with that type of accounts?

In this document, when we say 'Synced user', we mean users synced from on-premises. As these accounts are managed at the source, administrators are unable to specify the UPN for these users.

Synced users where the tenant uses federated authentication
If Password Hash Sync (PHS) is enabled, administrators are blocked from setting a new password during conversion.
if the federated tenant doesn't have PHS enabled, administrators have the option to set a password.
In cases where the tenant is managed, meaning it uses cloud authentication, administrators are required to specify a password during conversion.

[SaibabaBalapur-MSFT]

@J-a-k-o-b I apologize for any confusion. The article you mentioned is about converting external users to internal users in Entra AD, and it mentions that this feature can be used for synced users, which are hybrid identities. However, it does not mention anything about conversations with these types of accounts. Further I'm going to assign @barclayn this to the document author so they can take a look at it accordingly.

@barclayn
please review it.