Flow Owner Leaves and SharePoint Automation Stops: Fix

When the owner of a Power Automate flow leaves your organization, the flow stops running. This happens because Power Automate requires a valid owner account to authenticate and execute actions. Without an owner, the flow enters a suspended state and cannot process triggers or perform actions. This article explains why the flow stops, how to reassign ownership, and what to do if the flow remains broken after the fix.

Why a Flow Stops When Its Owner Leaves the Organization

Power Automate flows run under the context of their owner. The owner account provides authentication for every action the flow takes, including reading SharePoint lists, sending emails, and updating records. When the owner’s account is disabled or deleted by your IT department, Power Automate can no longer authenticate those actions. The flow shows a status of “Suspended” or “Failed” in the flow list.

The core issue is that the flow’s connections are tied to the owner’s identity. For example, a SharePoint connection created by the owner becomes invalid when the owner account is removed. The flow cannot refresh tokens or perform any operation that requires that connection. This affects all flow types: automated, scheduled, and instant flows.

Steps to Reassign Ownership and Restore the Flow

You need at least the Environment Admin role or the Co-owner role on the flow to perform these steps. If you do not have access, contact your Power Platform admin.

1. Sign in to Power Automate
   Go to https://make.powerautomate.com and sign in with your work or school account. Use an account that has sufficient permissions to manage flows in the environment.
2. Open the environment containing the flow
   In the top-right corner, select the correct environment from the dropdown list. The flow is located in the same environment as the SharePoint site it automates.
3. Find the suspended flow
   In the left navigation, select My flows. Look for the flow that shows a status of “Suspended” or “Failed.” If you do not see it, select Team flows or ask your admin to share the flow with you.
4. Open the flow details
   Click the flow name to open its details page. Review the owner field at the top of the page. It may show the departed user’s name or “No owner.”
5. Manage sharing and add a new owner
   Select Manage sharing in the top menu. In the Manage sharing panel, enter the name or email of a new owner. The new owner must have a valid Power Automate license. Select the user and click Share. The new owner now appears in the owner list.
6. Update all connections in the flow
   Return to the flow details page. Select Edit to open the flow designer. Click the ellipsis (…) menu on each action or trigger that shows a broken connection icon. Select Change connection and choose a connection that belongs to the new owner or another valid user. Repeat for every broken connection.
7. Save and turn on the flow
   After updating all connections, select Save at the bottom of the designer. Then select Turn on to enable the flow. The flow status changes to “On” if the connections are valid.
8. Test the flow
   Trigger the flow manually by performing the action it listens for, or select Test in the top menu. Verify that the flow runs successfully and produces the expected output.

If the Flow Still Has Issues After Reassigning Ownership

Flow shows “Suspended” even after adding a new owner

This usually means one or more connections still reference the departed owner’s credentials. Open the flow in edit mode and inspect every action and trigger. Look for the red exclamation mark icon next to connections. Change each broken connection to a valid one. If you cannot find a broken connection, check the flow’s trigger — some triggers, like “When an item is created,” also use a connection.

“Access denied” errors when the flow runs

The new owner may not have sufficient permissions to the SharePoint site or list the flow accesses. Go to the SharePoint site, navigate to Site permissions, and ensure the new owner has at least Edit or Contribute permissions on the relevant list or library. If the flow uses SharePoint actions that require site-level permissions, add the new owner to the site members group.

Flow runs but does not perform the correct action

This can happen if the flow uses dynamic content from the departed owner’s previous runs. Open the flow in edit mode and review each action’s inputs. Re-select any dynamic content that refers to the old owner’s profile, such as “Created by” or “Modified by.” Save and test again.

Power Automate Flow Ownership: Owner vs Co-owner Comparison

Item	Owner	Co-owner
Permissions	Full control: edit, delete, share, turn on/off	Can edit and view run history, cannot delete or change ownership
Flow execution	Flow runs under owner identity	Co-owner identity is not used for execution
Connection management	Owner connections are used by default	Co-owner can update connections but must use own credentials
Impact of departure	Flow stops immediately when owner account is disabled	Flow continues as long as at least one owner exists
License requirement	Requires Power Automate license	Requires Power Automate license

Assign at least two owners to critical flows to prevent a single point of failure. Use the Manage sharing panel to add a second owner before the primary owner departs.