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Troubleshooting - Enterprise search connectors

Updated 17 days ago

This page covers common issues and resolutions that apply to all Enterprise Search connectors, including frequent questions framed the way admins encounter them — as symptoms and fixes. For connector-specific issues, see the Troubleshooting & FAQs page for each connector.

Connector health

Monitor connector status in Simpplr at: Enterprise search → [Connector name] → Status

Available metrics:

  • Last sync status (Success / Warning / Failed)

  • Last sync time and next scheduled sync

  • Sync type (Full / Incremental)

  • Total items indexed

  • Error and warning count

Common issues

Authentication failed

Symptoms: Connector cannot connect to the source system. Sync fails immediately at start.

Possible causes:

  1. Incorrect credentials (client ID, secret, tenant ID, API key, etc.) entered in Simpplr

  2. Required API permissions not granted to the app or service account

  3. Admin consent not approved in the source system

Resolution:

  1. Re-enter and verify all credentials in the connector settings.

  2. Confirm all required permissions are listed and granted in the source system.

  3. Confirm admin consent has been approved — this must be done by an admin.

No documents indexed after sync completes

Symptoms: Sync shows as successful but item count is 0 or much lower than expected.

Possible causes:

  1. Filters are too restrictive

  2. The app or service account does not have access to the selected content locations

  3. All content is older than the default age filter (last 2 years)

Resolution:

  1. Review and widen the filters in the filter configuration section of the connector's setup guide.

  2. Verify the app has the required permissions and consent was granted.

  3. Check whether the content falls within the supported date range.

Sync is stuck in Pending and never starts

Symptoms: Sync remains in the Pending state and never moves to In progress.

Possible causes:

  1. A previously running sync job has not yet completed or released its slot

  2. An internal scheduling issue

Resolution:

  1. Allow up to 1 hour — pending jobs are normally picked up within the scheduling interval.

  2. If the sync is still in Pending after 2 hours, contact Support.

Sync is in progress but not making progress

Symptoms: Sync has been In progress for an unusually long time with no change in item count.

Possible causes:

  1. Very large volume of content on the initial full sync

  2. Source API is throttling requests

Resolution:

  1. Allow more time — initial full syncs on large tenants can take several hours.

  2. If the item count has not changed after 4+ hours, contact Support.

Sync failed with a "cancelled" error that nobody triggered

Symptoms: A sync shows as failed with a cancellation error, but no one cancelled it manually.

Possible causes:

  1. The sync job was terminated by the platform — for example, it stopped responding or exceeded its allowed runtime.

Resolution:

  1. The next scheduled sync normally recovers automatically. No previously indexed data is lost.

  2. If cancelled failures repeat across multiple syncs, contact Support.

Content is not updating as quickly as expected

Symptoms: New or updated items in the source do not appear in Simpplr search right away.

Cause: Connectors sync on a schedule, not in real time. A full sync runs on first setup, then on the schedule shown on the connector's overview page. Incremental syncs pick up new, updated, and deleted content on their own schedule. During periods of high change volume or source API throttling, a sync can take longer than its scheduled interval.

Resolution:

  1. Check the connector's overview page for its sync schedule, and the Status page for the last and next sync times.

  2. Sync schedules are fixed and cannot be customized, but a manual full sync can be triggered from the Status page, and syncs can be paused and resumed manually.

Deleted items still appear in search results

Symptoms: An item deleted in the source still shows up in Simpplr search.

Cause: Deletions are removed from the search index at the next incremental sync after the deletion is detected in the source.

Resolution:

  1. Wait for the next incremental sync to complete.

  2. If the item persists across multiple incremental syncs, contact Support.

A user still sees an item after losing access in the source

Symptoms: A user whose access was revoked in the source system can still find the item in Simpplr search.

Cause: Permission changes propagate on the sync schedule. Per-item permission changes are picked up by the incremental sync; user and group membership changes are picked up by the permission sync. Until the relevant sync completes, the previous permission state is enforced.

Resolution:

  1. Wait for the next incremental and permission syncs to complete. See the connector's Permissions & Security page for propagation latency details, including worst-case behavior.

  2. If stale access persists beyond the documented latency, contact Support.

Unwanted content is being indexed

Symptoms: Search results include content that should not be in the index — wrong locations, old documents, or excluded file types.

Resolution:

  1. All connectors support filters by file type, file size, and document age. Some connectors also support location-based filters (folders, sites, or channels). Configure these in the filter configuration section of the connector's setup guide.

  2. After narrowing filters, trigger a manual full sync from the Status page so the new scope is applied.

Connector content is visible to users outside the intended audience

Symptoms: Users who should not work with this content can find it in Enterprise Search (even though they have access to it in the source system).

Resolution:

  1. Configure an Audience for the connector in the filter configuration section of the setup guide. Only members of that audience will see this connector's content in Enterprise Search.

  2. Note that Audience settings narrow discovery within Simpplr — they do not change source-system permissions, which are always enforced separately.

Source API throttling is slowing down syncs

Symptoms: Syncs take much longer than usual during periods of heavy source-system usage.

Cause: If the source API rate-limits requests, the sync slows down and resumes automatically.

Resolution:

  1. No action needed — the sync backs off and continues automatically, and no data is lost.

  2. If syncs consistently fail to complete, contact Support.

When to contact support

Reach out to Simpplr Support if:

  1. Authentication error persists after following the steps above

  2. Sync is stuck in Pending state for more than 2 hours

  3. Sync is In progress but the item count has not changed for 4+ hours

  4. Sync is in progress but no documents are being indexed

  5. Syncs repeatedly fail with a "cancelled" error that was not triggered manually

  6. Sync completed but a significant portion of expected content is missing

When contacting Support, include:

  • Connector name and instance ID (visible in the connector dashboard)

  • Your organization URL

  • Approximate date and time the issue started

  • Error messages or screenshots

  • Steps you have already tried

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