Sync with Microsoft To Do
Use Microsoft To Do to keep your tasks in sync between 2Do and your personal Microsoft account, such as Outlook.com, or a supported Microsoft 365 / Office 365 work or school account. Choose the same Microsoft account in 2Do on Android, iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
These steps apply to Android versions that include Microsoft To Do under Sync Method. Sync works during the full-featured trial and requires 2Do Pro after the trial ends. 2Do for Web uses iCloud and cannot join Microsoft To Do sync.
Before You Connect
Sign in to Microsoft To Do with the account you plan to use and check that your lists are available. Work and school accounts need a supported subscription and an Exchange Online mailbox. An on-premises Exchange mailbox alone is not supported. See Microsoft's account requirements.
2Do connects to Microsoft's standard cloud service. Accounts that require separate national-cloud sign-in addresses are not supported.
Use one sync method and account for your ordinary lists, and choose the same method on every device. See Sync Overview if you are moving from another service.
Connect Your Account
- Open Settings > Sync setup > Sync Method and choose Microsoft To Do.
- Back in Sync setup, tap Sign In to Microsoft.
- Sign in on Microsoft's browser page and approve 2Do's access to your tasks and mailbox settings. Complete any verification your account requires.
- Return to 2Do and choose how to sync. Choose Merge sync to combine tasks from this device and Microsoft. Choose Replace data on this device only if Microsoft has the copy you want to keep, then confirm the replacement.
- Keep 2Do open until it finishes, then connect your other devices to the same Microsoft account. See the setup guides for iPhone and iPad and Mac.
Use an up-to-date browser that supports this sign-in, such as Chrome. You enter your password on Microsoft's page. 2Do keeps the authorization needed for later syncs, so you do not need to sign in each time.
2Do uses mailbox settings to read your time zone and add used tag names to Outlook’s category list. This permission does not give 2Do access to your email messages. If your organization requires administrator approval, ask its administrator to allow 2Do.
First Sync and Replacement Choices
When you connect a new account, 2Do asks how you want to sync before it starts. Merge sync combines this device’s included lists and tasks with those in Microsoft To Do. Replace data on this device uses Microsoft’s copy and may remove local tasks that are not there. You can cancel without starting sync.
To choose another full sync later, use Settings > Sync setup > Next sync action. 2Do shows a progress dialog during a merge or replacement. Keep the app open until it finishes. Lists excluded from sync stay on this device.
Before replacing this device's data, make a backup from Settings > Manage Backups and keep a copy off the device. Replacement removes synced lists and tasks that exist only here.
Replace server data is not available for Microsoft To Do. To combine separate work from both sides again, choose Merge sync under Next sync action. After a successful sync, the choice returns to Sync normally.
What Syncs
Regular lists, tasks, notes, completion, priority, dates, tags, and supported file attachments sync through your Microsoft account. Microsoft's default Tasks list appears as 2Do's Inbox. The Flagged Emails list is read-only in 2Do.
2Do automatically preserves its extra task details for your other 2Do devices, including due and start times, additional alarms, stars, actions, durations, locations, repeat settings, and parent links. Your notes remain readable notes. Microsoft To Do and Outlook do not display all these extra 2Do fields.
Projects, checklists, and their children appear as separate tasks in Microsoft To Do. Their parent links are restored in 2Do. If you move or delete only the parent in Microsoft To Do, surviving children stay in their current list as standalone tasks in 2Do. Deleting a project or checklist in 2Do also deletes its children. Microsoft's checklist steps are not imported as 2Do sub-tasks.
List group names sync between your 2Do devices when they contain synced lists. Microsoft To Do does not show these groups. Each device keeps its own group order. Empty list groups, Smart Lists, and sections stay on their current device. Locations assigned to tasks sync with those tasks; unused locations and tag groups stay local.
Tags and Outlook Categories
Tags used on your tasks also appear as Outlook categories. Outlook uses the same category list for mail, calendar events, and tasks in that Microsoft account. 2Do adds the tag names you use, but does not apply them to emails or calendar events. Existing category colors stay as you set them in Outlook. Unused tags stay in 2Do on their current device.
You can manage categories in Outlook under Settings > Accounts > Categories. See Microsoft’s category guide for your version of Outlook. Adding or removing a category on a task changes its tags in 2Do after the next sync.
Renaming a tag in 2Do adds the new name to Outlook’s category list. The old name remains available because other Outlook items may use it. If a tag is still assigned to a synced task, 2Do adds its name back when it is missing from Outlook’s category list. Remove the tag from those tasks first if you no longer want 2Do to add it.
Outlook cannot use category names containing commas or semicolons. It also limits names to 255 characters, with some characters, such as emoji, counting as two. These tags still sync with their full names between your 2Do devices, but do not appear as Outlook categories.
Dates, Reminders, and Repeats
Microsoft To Do and Outlook may show only a date where 2Do also shows a time. 2Do preserves its start and due times separately for your other 2Do devices. A start date without a due date stays in 2Do's extra details.
2Do uses the Microsoft account's mailbox time zone when interpreting native task dates. Microsoft does not always expose the original zone used by another client. If you use Microsoft clients with different time-zone settings, check the dates in both apps.
Microsoft provides one native reminder per task. 2Do uses it for one of your alarms and preserves additional alarms for your other 2Do devices. Changing or removing the Microsoft reminder changes that alarm. Snoozes stay on the device where you set them.
Supported repeat rules can advance in either app. Rules Microsoft cannot represent exactly, including completion-based repeats and some manually rescheduled occurrences, remain available in 2Do. Complete those tasks in 2Do to advance the rule; Microsoft To Do shows them without a native repeat setting. See Repeating Tasks.
Pictures, Audio, and Other Files
Files up to 25 MB, including pictures and audio notes, can sync. Larger files and link-only attachments stay on the device while the rest of sync continues. If you replace an already-synced attachment with an unsupported file, Microsoft keeps the previously uploaded version until you choose a supported replacement. This follows Microsoft's attachment limit.
Sync Settings and Account Changes
Under Settings > Sync setup, use Sync automatically to choose an interval and Exclude list from Sync to keep selected lists local. Pull down on the task list whenever you want to sync manually. Android may delay background work because of battery or network restrictions; see Background Sync.
If Microsoft asks you to authenticate again, tap Sign In Again and use the same account. This keeps your existing sync history and pending changes. If you sign in with a different Microsoft account, 2Do asks whether to use Merge sync or Replace data on this device before continuing.
Sign Out stops Microsoft sync on this device and leaves its tasks available locally.
If Sync Cannot Connect
Confirm that Microsoft To Do works with the same account. For a work or school account, ask your administrator whether access or licensing has changed. Use the Microsoft sign-in page rather than entering an Exchange server address into another sync method.
If the browser cannot finish sign-in, update it and try Sign In to Microsoft again. If Microsoft temporarily limits requests, leave the account connected and try syncing later. 2Do retains unsent local changes while it waits.
If another device shows different tasks, check that both use Microsoft To Do, the same account, and the intended list exclusions. Sync the device with your complete copy first. See One of my devices isn't syncing correctly before replacing data.