Power Automate Flow Not Triggering After Owner Account Deleted

While working on a Leave Management application for a client, the client gave a test user account to build the app using Power Apps and Power Automate. After development was complete, the client decided to delete the test account.

However, all the flows were created using that account, and the connections were linked to it. If the account was deleted, the flows would stop triggering or fail due to broken connections.

In Power Automate, flows are strongly dependent on the account and connections used during creation. Simply sharing the flow with another user does not automatically transfer ownership of the connections.

In this tutorial, I will show you, step by step, how to safely handle this situation by sharing the flow with another user and updating the connections. So the flow continues to work even after the original account is removed.

Create a Test User Account in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

For this scenario, I created a test user account in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This account was used to build the Leave Management application and create all the Power Automate flows.

To create the test user:

1. Open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
2. Navigate to Users → Active users.
3. Click on Add a user.
4. Enter the required details such as display name, username, and domain.
5. Assign the necessary licenses (Power Apps and Power Automate).
6. Complete the setup process.

After creating the user account, I logged in using this test user and created the Cloud Flows for the application.

Create a Cloud Flow Using the Test Account

After creating the test user account, log in using that account and create a Cloud Flow.

Before creating the Cloud Flow, I first created a SharePoint list to store the Leave Management details.

The list contains the following columns:

• Employee Name (Single line of text)
• Leave Type (Choice)
• Start Date (Date and Time)
• End Date (Date and Time)

This SharePoint list will be used as the trigger source for the flow. Whenever a new item is created in this list, the Power Automate flow will trigger and send an email notification.

Follow the steps below to create the flow:

1. Sign in to Power Automate using the test user account. Click on Create from the left navigation menu. Select Automated cloud flow.

2. Enter a flow name (Leave Request Notification Flow). Choose the trigger: When an item is created (SharePoint). Click Create.

3. Then provide the following required parameters:
   • SharePoint Site Address
   • List Name (Leave Management)

4. Add the action Send an email (V2) from Outlook and provide the parameters below:
   • To: Employee Email
   • Subject: Your Leave Request (@{triggerBody()?[‘Title’]}) Submited Succesfully
   • Body:

Hi @{triggerBody()?['EmployeeName/DisplayName']},
Your Leave Request Submited Succesfully Below are the Detalis:
Leave Type: @{triggerBody()?['LeaveType/Value']}
Start Date: @{formatDateTime(triggerBody()?['StartDate'],'dd/mm/yyyy')}
End Date: @{formatDateTime(triggerBody()?['EndDate'],'dd/mm/yyyy')}
Thanks

Now save the flow and go to the sharepoint list and add a leave request. Then, after some time, you can see that the requested employee will get an email.

Now the flow is created using the test user account, and all the connections are linked to that account.

Share the Flow with Another User in Power Autoamte

After creating the Cloud Flow using the test account, the next step is to share the flow with another user. This ensures that another user can manage and modify the flow if needed.

Follow the steps below to share the flow:

1. Go to Power Automate and open My flows. Select the flow that was created using the test account.
2. Click on the Share option from the top menu.

3. Enter the name or email address of the second user. Assign the required permission (for example, Co-owner).

The second user now has access to the flow. However, it is important to understand that sharing the flow does not transfer the ownership of the existing connections. The connections are still associated with the original test user account.

Delete the Test User Account in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

After sharing the flow with another user, delete the test user account from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
2. Navigate to Users → Active users.
3. Select the test user account that was used to create the flow.
4. Click on Delete user.
5. Confirm the deletion.

Once the account is deleted, try adding a new item to the SharePoint Leave Management list.

You will notice that the flow does not trigger. Even though the flow was shared with another user, the connections are still tied to the deleted account. As a result, the trigger and actions fail due to invalid or broken connections.

How to Fix the Broken Connections in Power Automate

After deleting the original test user account, the flow stops triggering because the connections are still associated with the deleted account. Even though the flow was shared, ownership of the connection was not automatically transferred.

To fix this issue, follow the steps below:

1. Sign in to Power Automate using the second user account (the co-owner). Go to My flows and open the shared flow.

2. You will notice that the trigger and actions show connection errors. Click on each trigger and action that has a broken connection.
3. Select Add new connection. Authenticate using the second user’s credentials.

4. Update all required connections (SharePoint, Outlook, etc.)

After updating the connections, add a new item to the SharePoint list again. Now, the flow will trigger successfully and work as expected.

In this tutorial, I explained what happens when a Power Automate flow is created using a test user account and that account is later deleted. I showed how the flow stops working because the connections are linked to the deleted account. I also showed that sharing the flow does not transfer ownership of the connection.

Finally, I explained how to fix the issue by updating the connections using another user account so that the flow continues to work properly.

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