Forum Discussion
Edge Sync stuck in Initializing with Backend Uninitialized
Hello,
I am hoping to get feedback from people familiar with Edge Sync internals, synchronization failures, or similar cases.
OVERVIEW
Around October 13, 2026, I discovered that my Favorites and saved Passwords were no longer visible in Microsoft Edge.
The issue is present on both my desktop PC and my laptop using the same personal Microsoft account.
Approximately two weeks later, the issue remains unchanged.
What makes this case unusual is that authentication appears to work correctly, Edge Sync servers respond successfully, and encryption keys download successfully, yet the sync engine never completes initialization.
ENVIRONMENT
Microsoft Edge
Windows 11
Personal Microsoft account
Desktop PC
Laptop
The same symptoms occur on both devices.
SYNC INTERNALS
edge://sync-internals consistently reports:
Transport State = Initializing
Sync Engine State = Stopped
Backend Status = Uninitialized
Sync Feature Enabled = True
Bookmarks = 0
Passwords = 0
Additional values:
Download Key Result = Fail
Set Key Result = Fail
SIGN-IN STATUS
edge://signin-internals reports:
Successful authentication
Successful token retrieval
No authentication errors
There is no indication of a Microsoft account sign-in problem.
SYNC DIAGNOSTICS
sync_diagnostic.log repeatedly shows:
SyncState after authenticated = FeatureCanStart
Try to start sync engine
Load and connect Nigori controller
Update key data credentials
Reset engine
The sync engine repeatedly attempts initialization but never reaches a running state.
SERVER COMMUNICATION
cv_debug.log reports:
SYNC_SERVER_OK
EncryptionKeysFetcher.DownloadKeys = Success
Key count = 10
SetEncryptionKeys = Success
This confirms that sync servers respond and encryption keys can be downloaded successfully.
One unusual observation is that Sync Internals reports:
Download Key Result = Fail
Set Key Result = Fail
while the logs simultaneously report successful key download and processing.
PROFILE VERIFICATION
Active profile:
...\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default
During troubleshooting, a file named "Bookmarks" could not be located within the active profile.
The following sync-related components remain present:
Sync Data
LevelDB
Nigori.bin
Logs
MULTI-DEVICE IMPACT
The same behavior is present on both desktop and laptop using the same Microsoft account.
This makes a single-device profile corruption scenario seem less likely.
NEW OBSERVATION
After the initial failure, I created a new Favorites folder named:
After Edge Sync Failure 20261013
The folder appeared correctly in the Favorites Bar.
After Microsoft Edge and Windows were closed and restarted, the folder was no longer present.
This suggests the issue may still be actively affecting local Favorites persistence and is not limited to historical sync data.
ACTIONS NOT PERFORMED
Based on recommendations received in Microsoft Q&A, I have intentionally avoided:
Reset Sync
Deleting the Edge profile
Clearing all Edge data
Reinstalling Edge
The goal has been to avoid overwriting potentially recoverable sync data.
PRIMARY QUESTION
My main question is not whether synchronization currently works.
My main question is whether the original Favorites and Password records may still exist within the Edge Sync service and whether there is any supported way to determine that before attempting potentially destructive recovery actions.
QUESTIONS
Has anyone seen this exact combination of Transport State = Initializing, Sync Engine State = Stopped, and Backend Status = Uninitialized persisting for weeks?
Can a corrupted Nigori or encryption-key state cause Favorites and Passwords to report zero items despite successful authentication and successful key download?
Has anyone recovered Favorites or Passwords after a similar state?
Is there any supported method to determine whether the original sync data still exists on the sync backend before attempting Reset Sync?
Does this pattern suggest an account-level sync corruption, backend corruption, or another known Edge Sync failure mode?
Any technical insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
1 Reply
Update – October 28, 2026
I wanted to share an update in case it helps others researching similar Edge Sync issues.
The Favorites and saved Passwords unexpectedly returned on October 28, 2026 and currently appear to be complete.
The issue was first observed around October 13, 2026, meaning the symptoms persisted for approximately 15 days.
During that period Edge consistently reported:
- Transport State = Initializing
- Sync Engine State = Stopped
- Backend Status = Uninitialized
- Bookmarks = 0
- Passwords = 0Authentication generally continued to succeed throughout the incident.
Sync servers remained reachable.
Encryption keys continued to download successfully.
No Reset Sync was performed.
No profile deletion was performed.
No Edge reinstallation was performed.
The only notable change observed before the data returned was that Edge required authentication through Microsoft Authenticator rather than the usual PIN-based sign-in.
Although the data appears to have returned completely, the root cause remains unknown.
From a user perspective, a synchronization failure persisting for approximately 15 days and then resolving without any corrective action from the user does not appear to be normal behavior.
For precautionary reasons, Favorites and Passwords have now been exported and backed up.
I wanted to share this outcome in case it helps identify similar Edge Sync issues in the future.
Thank you.
