Upgrading Azure AD Connect to Microsoft Entra Connect Sync

In this guide, we shall discuss “Upgrading Azure AD Connect to Microsoft Entra Connect Sync”. Keeping your identity infrastructure up to date is essential for ensuring security, performance, and compatibility with Microsoft cloud services. Microsoft Entra Connect Sync (formerly Azure AD Connect) continues to evolve with new features, improvements, and deprecations that require administrators to regularly update their environments.Please, see How to uninstall and upgrade ADK, WinPE, and MDT, and Various Msiexec.exe Command Line Switches.

This guide provides a clear and practical overview of the steps required to upgrade Azure AD Connect to a newer version, helping you ensure a smooth transition with minimal impact on your synchronization services.

Whether you are planning a routine upgrade or moving to a more recent release such as version 2.4.18, this document will support you through the process with best practices and key considerations. Please see “Hardening update to Microsoft Entra Connect Sync AD FS and PingFederate configuration“.

You can download the Microsoft Entra Connect from Official Microsoft Download Center. Backup (Export Configuration Settings (Recommended)). You can export all your sync rules and server settings directly from the application.

Migrate Azure AD CONNECT to a new Server

To do this, open the Microsoft Entra Connect application. Go to the Configure tab and select View or export current configuration.

1. Click the Export Settings button.
2. Save the .json file to a secure, off-server location (such as an encrypted network share).

From version 2.3.20.0 onwards, the auto-update feature is available; we will install the latest version 2.4.129.0.

Check Microsoft Entra Connect version

(Get-ADSyncGlobalSettingsParameter | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq 'Microsoft.Synchronize.ServerConfigurationVersion' }).Value

Check Sync prima di upgrade

Please see Deploying Next.Js App Using Heroku Cloud Application Platform, how to Configure Object First OOTBI Appliance, PCI Driver Error: Connection to Deployment Share could not be made, and Steps to Fix the “Invalid OS GUID” Error in MDT.

Find Microsoft Entra Connect server

Please use this URL to access Entra ID: https://entra.microsoft.com

Verify the prerequisites on the AD Connect server where the upgrade needs to be performed.
Prerequisites are met on the AD Connect server.

Questo comando verifica la versione del .NET Framework 4.x installata sul server (requisito importante per Azure AD Connect).

(Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full").Release

Also check in the Windows registry

$Release = (Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full').Release
switch ($Release) {
    {$_ -ge 528040} {"Versione 4.8 o superiore"}
    {$_ -ge 461808} {"Versione 4.7.2"}
    {$_ -ge 461308} {"Versione 4.7.1"}
    {$_ -ge 460798} {"Versione 4.7"}
    Default {"Versione inferiore a 4.7"}
}

1. Verify Prerequisites

Before upgrading, make sure the server meets the following requirements:

• Supported operating system: Windows Server 2016 or later
• .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later installed
• TLS 1.2 enabled (you can verify it using the following PowerShell command):

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol

If TLS 1.2 is not enabled, run the following commands:

Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319' -Name 'SchUseStrongCrypto' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319' -Name 'SchUseStrongCrypto' -Value 1 -Type DWord

2. Download the latest version of Azure AD Connect

Download the latest version from Microsoft: Download Microsoft Entra Connect

Please, see how to install Endpoint Configuration Manager on HyperV VM, “Windows PE working for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022“, and “how to check the version of Windows ADK”.

3. Perform an in-place upgrade

Open the downloaded AzureADConnect.msi file.

Follow the instructions in the setup wizard.

The window for authentication to the Azure tenant opens.

The “Ready to configure” screen confirms that the system is prepared to apply the upgrade. When you click Upgrade, the wizard will:

• Upgrade the Microsoft Entra Connect Sync configuration
• Enable Auto Upgrade, allowing the system to stay updated automatically in the future

In addition, the highlighted option:

•  “Start the synchronization process when configuration completes”
  ensures that directory synchronization will automatically resume once the upgrade process finishes.

 At the bottom right, clicking the Upgrade button will start the upgrade process.

Please see Faulting SecHealthUI: Resolve Windows Defender Notification, how to Update Your AMD Radeon Display Adapter Driver, and how to update Proxmox VE to the latest version 9.2.3 today.

4. Verify the version after the upgrade

After the upgrade, open Azure AD Connect and verify that the installed version is 2.4.18.0 or later.

(Get-ADSyncGlobalSettingsParameter | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq 'Microsoft.Synchronize.ServerConfigurationVersion' }).Value

Ensure that the returned value matches the expected upgraded version (for example, 2.4.x.x). Or from GUI

5. Enable Auto Upgrade (optional)

To avoid manual updates in the future:

• Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Set-ADSyncAutoUpgrade Enabled

Conclusion

Upgrading Azure AD Connect is essential to maintain compatibility and receive the latest security updates. If you have any questions or encounter issues, you can refer to the official Microsoft documentation:

I hope you found this guide on “Azure – Step-by-Step Guide to Upgrading Azure AD Connect to Microsoft Entra Connect Sync” very useful. Please feel free to leave a comment below.