Bookings App Overwrites Staff Colour Categories Saved in Bookings Web – Can Sync Be Disabled or Corrected?

Dear @Melinda Cape, Ms, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.   

To be honest, as a moderator, I share the same experience as other users and do not have the specific tools to investigate this issue. Only the Microsoft Technical Team has the necessary tools to perform such a deep-dive investigation. However, I can provide the guidance you need to reach out to them, as they are the ones who can actually deploy a fix. 

Based on my understanding, you are looking for a "Disable" toggle or a setting to stop the Bookings app in Teams from connecting to or overwriting data on the Web version. Typically, synchronization is meant to update the latest information across devices. But in this case, instead of updating, Teams is incorrectly removing (overwriting with null values) the staff color categories you have assigned. Currently, Microsoft does not provide a configuration option or toggle in the Admin Center to separately disable synchronization between Teams and Web. The Bookings app in Teams acts as a wrapper that connects directly to server data; therefore, every time the app is opened, it automatically triggers a data check and update process. Since this is causing data loss, it is considered abnormal behavior that requires the Microsoft Technical Team to investigate, especially as everything is currently functioning normally in my own test environment. 

In terms of Product Design, Microsoft intended the Bookings apps on Teams and Web to be two interfaces of the same database. All staff settings, including category colors, should be displayed with consistency to ensure an uninterrupted user experience. Color-coding for staff is not a premium or unique feature exclusive to the Web; it is a standard part of Staff Metadata. Therefore, Teams failing to display or actively deleting this data is a deviation from the standard design and must be investigated. 

Because this is abnormal behavior occurring within your specific tenant, and as you mentioned, it was working correctly previously, data preservation must be the top priority. To get a specific fix roadmap for this issue, please help me reach out to your Global Admin and ask them to submit a support ticket via the Admin Center. 

Here are the instructions to submit a ticket: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

Please include your screenshots and feel free to copy the exact description of the issue from your post, as it is very thorough and will help the technical team understand the details of your situation. 

Currently, there is no documented method to disable or limit synchronization from the Microsoft Teams Bookings app that would prevent it from overwriting color data saved in the web version. This behavior seems to be an issue where the Teams app does not respect the metadata for staff color categories, leading to the loss of these assignments when switching between the web and Teams interfaces.

As for whether this is a known regression or if there is a planned fix, the information is not explicitly provided in the available documentation. It would be advisable to reach out to Microsoft Support for confirmation on whether this issue is recognized and if a resolution is forthcoming.

Regarding the preservation of staff color information in the Teams version of Bookings, the documentation does not specify if color-coding is currently supported in that interface, indicating that it may not be fully functional or intended in the Teams app at this time.

For further assistance or to report this issue, contacting Microsoft Support would be the best course of action as they can provide the most accurate and timely information regarding product behavior and updates.

References:

• Manage the Bookings app in Microsoft Teams
• Shared Bookings Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)