220-1102 Question 308
Single answerIdentity synchronizationA company uses an on-premises Active Directory environment and Microsoft 365 for email and collaboration. The IT department has configured identity synchronization so users can sign in to cloud services with the same usernames as their on-premises accounts. A user reports that after her last name was changed in Active Directory yesterday, Microsoft 365 still shows her old last name, even though she can sign in successfully. Which action should the technician take FIRST to resolve the mismatch?
- A
Force or verify a directory synchronization cycle between the on-premises directory and Microsoft 365
- B
Create a new Microsoft 365 account with the updated last name and migrate the user's mailbox
- C
Reset the user's password in Active Directory and have her sign in again to trigger the update
- D
Disable multifactor authentication so the updated profile information can replicate
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question tests practical understanding of identity synchronization in a hybrid environment, which is an A+ Core 2-relevant concept under account management and cloud services. When an organization uses on-premises Active Directory with Microsoft 365, user objects and selected attributes are commonly synchronized to the cloud through a directory synchronization service. If a user can authenticate but attribute changes such as surname, display name, or contact details have not updated in Microsoft 365, the technician should first verify that synchronization has completed successfully and, if appropriate, initiate a sync cycle. Best practice is to troubleshoot the sync process before making account-level changes such as recreating the user or resetting passwords. Microsoft documentation for Microsoft Entra Connect Sync and hybrid identity management supports checking synchronization status when on-premises changes do not appear in Microsoft 365.
- A. Correct.
Correct. In a hybrid identity environment, changes made in on-premises Active Directory do not appear in Microsoft 365 until directory synchronization runs successfully. If the user can already sign in, authentication is working, so the most likely issue is that the updated attribute has not yet synchronized or the sync process needs to be checked. Verifying or forcing a sync is the appropriate first troubleshooting step.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Creating a new cloud account is unnecessary and would create additional administrative work and potential data loss or licensing issues. Identity synchronization is designed specifically to keep the same user identity aligned between on-premises and cloud services without rebuilding the account.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Password resets affect authentication credentials, not profile attributes such as surname or display name. A password change does not normally trigger the type of identity attribute correction needed in this scenario. Someone might choose this option because password issues are common, but the user can already sign in successfully.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Multifactor authentication controls an additional verification step during sign-in and has no direct role in synchronizing user profile attributes like a last name. This is a plausible distractor because MFA is part of account management, but it does not fix directory sync delays or failures.