Scheduled flow did not run at the set time

Short answer: a scheduled flow that does not run is Off, has a Start time in the future or in the wrong time zone, or was turned off by Power Automate. Microsoft's limits page says a flow that fails continuously is turned off after 14 days, and a flow that is not triggered within 90 days might be turned off. Open the flow, check that it is On, then read the run history.

Work through four checks in this order. First, is the flow On? Second, does the run history show a run or a skipped check at the expected time? Third, is the Start time in the future, with the right time zone? Fourth, did something stop the trigger, such as a policy, a broken connection or a long period without activity? A scheduled flow that works when you press Test but never starts on its own is one case a Microsoft Q&A question describes. The cause can sit in the Recurrence card, not in the actions.

What a scheduled flow is

A scheduled cloud flow starts from a Recurrence trigger. You choose how often it runs, and an optional start date and time. Microsoft's page on scheduled flows says you can run a flow "Once a day, an hour, or a minute", "On a date that you specify", or "After many days, hours, or minutes that you specify." Because a scheduled flow starts by the clock, nobody clicks anything. That is why a missed run can go unnoticed until someone asks where the report is.

Signs your scheduled flow did not run

The email, report or list update you expect did not arrive.
The flow runs fine when you press Test, but nothing happens at the set time.
The run history has no entry for the time you expected.
The flow details page shows a message or a status other than On.
You edited the schedule recently and have not looked at the flow since.

Step 1. Check that the flow is On

Open https://make.powerautomate.com, choose My flows, and open the flow. Look at the status on the details page. A flow that is Off does not run on a schedule. One Microsoft Q&A answer about a recurrence trigger that would not fire says: "After editing a recurrence trigger, the flow must be explicitly turned back on." The same answer says to confirm "The flow is enabled" and that "No errors are reported in the Flow checker." If the flow is Off, turn it on, then go to Step 2 before you assume it is fixed.

Exact names may differ in your version of Power Automate. If you cannot find the flow, check that you are in the right environment.

Step 2. Read the run history

On the flow details page, find the "28-day run history" and choose "All runs". Microsoft's trigger troubleshooting page says: "If a run was expected but didn't happen, look for the specific run to see if the trigger check was skipped." It also says "A skipped check means the trigger condition wasn't met, and the flow wasn't initiated."

Use what you see to decide where to go next:

A run exists and failed: open it, find the action marked in red and read the error. The schedule worked. The problem is in an action.
A run exists and succeeded, but the result is not what you expected: the flow ran. Check the actions and the data.
A skipped check is shown: look at the trigger conditions on the trigger card, under Settings.
There is no entry at all: go to Step 3 and Step 4.

Step 3. Check Start time and time zone

Open the flow, choose Edit, and open the Recurrence card. Look at Frequency, Interval, Start time and Time zone.

Microsoft's page on scheduled flows gives the Start time format: "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ." Its example is "enter 2025-03-24T22:00:00Z to specify 3:00 PM Pacific time on March 24, 2025." Microsoft's page also tells you to use the Time zone field "to specify whether the Start time reflects a local time zone, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or other time zone."

Microsoft's Power Automate page on scheduled flows links to an Azure Logic Apps page for advanced options. That page is written for Logic Apps, not Power Automate, so treat these points as a guide, not a Power Automate rule:

"If you select a time zone value, you don't need to add a "Z" to the end of your Start time value. If you do, Azure Logic Apps ignores the time zone value because the "Z" signifies a UTC time format."
"For simple schedules, the start time is the first occurrence, while for complex schedules, the trigger doesn't fire any sooner than the start time."
For Day, Week or Month frequency with a future start time: "make sure that you set up the recurrence in advance. Otherwise, the workflow might skip the first recurrence." It lists "Day: Set up the daily recurrence at least 24 hours in advance", "Week: Set up the weekly recurrence at least 7 days in advance" and "Month: Set up the monthly recurrence at least one month in advance."

The Microsoft Q&A answer also covers a start time in the past. It says: "If the start time is even slightly in the past at the moment the flow is enabled, the recurrence won't fire retroactively." It adds that the flow "will wait for the next valid interval." With an interval of two weeks, that can look like nothing is happening. That is a community answer on Microsoft Q&A, not a rule on a Learn page. It is a good thing to rule out.

One way to test: set the Start time a few minutes in the future, set Frequency to Hour and Interval to 1, save, and watch the run history at that time. Once it fires, set the schedule back. That test is our advice, not a Microsoft rule. The Q&A answer suggests a weekly test, but the Logic Apps page above says a weekly schedule should be set up at least 7 days ahead, or the first run might be skipped.

Step 4. Look for a stopped or blocked trigger

Microsoft's troubleshooting page lists these checks.

A trigger error on the details page. If you see "There's a problem with the flow's trigger. Fix the trigger.", Microsoft says "Your flow doesn't trigger until you fix this problem." Microsoft's fix: "After you fix the problem, edit the flow and then save it. You can then edit it back to its original state, and save it again."
A data loss prevention policy. Microsoft says: "If your flow violates a DLP policy, the service suspends the flow and the trigger doesn't fire." To check, "try to edit the flow and save it. The flow checker reports if the flow violates a DLP policy." Your admin sets these policies, so ask your admin if the checker reports a violation.
A broken connection. Connections can break when a password expires or a token policy applies. Microsoft's page says to go to Connections, find the connection your flow uses, and select the link in the Status column.
A changed environment URL. Microsoft says "edit each flow, and then save it."

Microsoft's limits page lists reasons Power Automate turns a flow off. A cloud flow with a trigger or actions that "fail continuously is turned off" after 14 days. A flow "that isn't triggered within a 90 day period might be turned off." The same row says "Flows owned by users with premium licenses or assigned capacity licenses (Power Automate Process, per flow) aren't subject to this suspension." It also says "Flow owners and co-owners are notified 30 days prior to suspension, and can turn the flow back on for it to continue operating." So if your flow's owner has a premium license, the 90-day rule does not apply to it, and an owner without one should look for the notice email. A flow that is "consistently throttled is turned off" after 14 days. The same page gives the Recurrence limits: a minimum interval of 60 seconds and a maximum of 500 days. Check these rows against your own flow. For the full story, see "Why Power Automate turned your flow off, and how to turn it back on".

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: when you cannot tell why a trigger did not fire, look in this order. Status On or Off, then the trigger error on the details page, then run history, then connection status, then the admin. It goes from the checks you can do alone to the ones that need someone else.

Step 5. Allow for small timing differences

Microsoft's trigger troubleshooting page says: "The recurrence trigger might not fire at the exact second shown in the user interface. The service's best-effort architecture can miss by a few seconds (early or late)." The Logic Apps page says the timestamp "might vary up to 1 minute from the scheduled time." If you need an exact clock time in the message, build the time into the message from the schedule instead of the run time.

Daylight saving time can also move a run. The Logic Apps page says: "If you want the trigger to honor daylight saving time (DST), make sure that you select a time zone." Without a time zone, it says DST events "might affect when triggers run."

Step 6. Re-save and test

After any change, open the flow, choose Edit, and then Save. Microsoft's troubleshooting page also lists these steps when a trigger does not fire: "Test the flow manually", "Remove and then re-add the trigger", "Switch the connection" and "Turn off and then turn on the flow." Try them one at a time, so you know which one fixed it.

One caution from the same page: for a polling trigger such as recurrence, "When you turn the flow back on, it processes all unprocessed or pending events." If turning the flow on could send a pile of old messages, tell the people who get them first.

What to avoid

Do not change five settings at once. You will not know which one fixed the flow.
Do not rely on the Test button. A manual test shows that the actions work. It does not show that the schedule works.
Do not leave the schedule with only one owner. See "The person who built your flows left: what happens and what to do".
Do not set a start time in the past and walk away. Check the run history at the first expected time.
Do not skip a time zone. Pick one in the Recurrence card.

Add a safety net

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: add a second, simple check so a missed run is noticed. For example, have the flow write one row to a SharePoint list each time it runs. Then a weekly look at that list shows a gap. For flows that remind people about due dates, see "Recurring task reminders for a team" and "Late tasks nobody notices: setting up late alerts".

Honest limits

This page covers cloud flows that start from a Recurrence trigger. A failure alert inside the flow cannot fire if the flow never starts. Your tenant may have rules and limits that a general page cannot see. Your admin can see policy, license and environment settings that you cannot.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

My scheduled flow works when I press Test. Why does it not run on its own?

Test runs the actions once, right now. The schedule depends on the flow being On, the Start time, the time zone and the trigger being registered, so check the run history for the time you expected a run.

Power Automate flow not running automatically

Check that the flow is On, that the Start time is not in the future, and that Power Automate did not turn it off after 14 days of failures or 90 days without a trigger.

Power Automate turn on flow

Open make.powerautomate.com, choose My flows, open the flow and turn it on from the details page; Microsoft says owners can turn a suspended flow back on, and a Q&A answer says to turn it on again after editing the recurrence.

Power Automate scheduled flow not triggering

Look for the trigger error "There's a problem with the flow's trigger. Fix the trigger.", a data loss prevention policy that suspends the flow, or a broken connection.

Power Automate flow not running at scheduled time

Check the Start time and Time zone on the Recurrence card; Microsoft says the trigger can fire a few seconds early or late, and Logic Apps notes up to 1 minute.