Troubleshooting “Workflow Suspension” in SharePoint

Overview

The “Workflow Suspension” error occurs when a SharePoint workflow is paused or suspended due to an error or an unmet condition. This issue is common in SharePoint 2013, SharePoint 2016, SharePoint 2019, SharePoint Online, and Power Automate (Microsoft Flow).

This error can be caused by:
✅ Permissions issues (User lacks access to an item or list).
✅ Workflow Manager service failure.
✅ Large data operations exceeding limits.
✅ Looping conditions or infinite loops.
✅ Missing task lists or broken connections.

To resolve this issue, follow this detailed step-by-step guide.

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Step 1: Identify the Workflow Type

Before troubleshooting, determine the type of workflow:

• SharePoint 2010 Workflow (Uses SharePoint Workflow Engine).
• SharePoint 2013 Workflow (Uses Workflow Manager).
• Power Automate (Flow) (For SharePoint Online).

Check Workflow Type in SharePoint Designer

1. Open SharePoint Designer.
2. Click Workflows in the left panel.
3. Locate your workflow and check the Platform Type (2010 or 2013).

🔹 If you are using Power Automate, check the flow history in the Power Automate portal.

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Step 2: Check Workflow Status and Errors

To find the exact reason for suspension, review workflow logs.

For SharePoint Online (Power Automate Users)

1. Open Power Automate (flow.microsoft.com).
2. Click My Flows > Select the failing workflow.
3. Go to Run History > Click on the suspended instance.
4. Look for detailed error messages (e.g., permissions issue, data limit exceeded).

For SharePoint On-Premises (Workflow History & ULS Logs)

1. Open SharePoint Central Administration.
2. Navigate to Monitoring > Review job definitions.
3. Find Workflow Timer Job and check its status.
4. Open Workflow History List in your site:
   • Go to the list or library where the workflow runs.
   • Click Workflow Settings > View Workflow History.
5. Review error messages to pinpoint the issue.

🔹 If the error message indicates a permissions issue, proceed to Step 3.

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Step 3: Check User Permissions

Workflows often suspend if a user lacks the required permissions.

Verify Permissions for the Workflow Initiator

1. Open the SharePoint site where the workflow runs.
2. Click Site Settings > Site Permissions.
3. Ensure the workflow initiator has:
   • Read and Write access to the list/library.
   • Contribute or Edit permissions on workflow tasks.
4. If the initiator lacks permissions, update them using: Set-SPUser -Identity "user@domain.com" -Web "http://yoursite" -AddPermission "Contribute"

🔹 If permissions are correct, go to Step 4.

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Step 4: Restart the Workflow Manager Service (For SharePoint 2013+)

If workflows are frequently suspended, restarting Workflow Manager may resolve the issue.

Restart via Windows Services

1. Open Run (Win + R) and type services.msc.
2. Find Workflow Manager Backend.
3. Right-click and select Restart.

Restart via PowerShell

1. Open SharePoint Management Shell as Administrator.
2. Run: Restart-Service WorkflowServiceBackend

🔹 If restarting the service does not help, proceed to Step 5.

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Step 5: Check for Infinite Loops or Long-Running Actions

If a workflow contains loops or long-running actions, SharePoint may suspend it.

Optimize Workflow Logic

1. Avoid infinite loops (e.g., loops that never end).
2. Reduce workflow complexity (Break large workflows into smaller ones).
3. Use delays instead of loops (For example, use “Pause for Duration” instead of checking conditions in a loop).

🔹 If optimizing logic does not help, move to Step 6.

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Step 6: Check for Large Data Processing Issues

SharePoint has limits on the number of items a workflow can process at once.

Reduce the Number of Items Processed

1. Filter large queries to process fewer items per batch.
2. Use multiple smaller workflows instead of one large workflow.
3. Increase the threshold using PowerShell (On-Premises only): Set-SPFarmConfig -WorkflowBatchSize 1000

🔹 If the workflow is still suspending, proceed to Step 7.

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Step 7: Verify Workflow Task List and History

A missing or corrupted Workflow Task List or Workflow History List can cause workflow suspension.

Check Task List Availability

1. Open SharePoint Designer.
2. Go to Lists and Libraries > Locate Workflow Tasks.
3. If the Workflow Task List is missing, recreate it by:
   • Creating a new SharePoint list named “Workflow Tasks”.
   • Associating the workflow with this new list.

Check Workflow History List

1. Open your SharePoint site.
2. Navigate to Site Contents > Look for Workflow History.
3. If missing, recreate it by running: New-SPList -Title "Workflow History" -TemplateType 140

🔹 If lists are intact but the error persists, move to Step 8.

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Step 8: Increase Workflow Timeouts (For SharePoint 2013+)

If workflows exceed the default execution time, increasing timeout limits may help.

Increase Timeout in SharePoint

1. Open SharePoint Management Shell as Administrator.
2. Run: Set-SPFarmConfig -WorkflowTimerJobTimeout 600 (This increases the timeout to 10 minutes.)
3. Restart IIS to apply the changes: iisreset

🔹 If workflows are still suspending, move to Step 9.

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Step 9: Migrate to Power Automate (For SharePoint Online Users)

If SharePoint Designer workflows frequently fail, migrating to Power Automate (Flow) may be a better long-term solution.

Why Move to Power Automate?

✅ More reliable execution.
✅ Advanced error handling.
✅ Better integration with modern SharePoint features.

🔹 If migration is not possible, proceed to Step 10.

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Step 10: Recreate the Workflow (Final Option)

If all else fails, consider rebuilding the workflow.

1. Open SharePoint Designer.
2. Export the existing workflow as a backup.
3. Create a new workflow with optimized logic.
4. Test and deploy the new workflow.

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