Someone has the wrong signature
Almost always a rule, occasionally a cache. Here is how to tell which in under a minute.
- Last updated
- 6 minute read
- Troubleshooting
- Rules
Signed always uses the same logic, so a wrong signature has a definite cause. The fastest route to it is the person's own preview, which names the rule that decided.
Start with the person
- Find them in Users and preview their signature.
- Read which signature and which rule produced it. That single line turns a mystery into a specific rule.
- If the named rule is not the one you expected, go to Rules and look at its priority.
Amelia Hart
Details from Microsoft 365, last synced today.
Display name
Amelia HartJob title
Head of OperationsDepartment
OperationsMobile
+44 7700 900123Her signature today
Amelia Hart
Head of Operations, Halden & Rowe
- +44 20 7946 0321
- amelia.hart@haldenrowe.co.uk
- haldenrowe.co.uk
Open studio
Come and see us on 16 October
Built from Leadership, chosen by the rule Person: Amelia Hart.
The usual causes
| Symptom | Usual cause |
|---|---|
| A whole team gets another team's signature | A domain rule sits above the department rules and matches everyone |
| One person is the odd one out | A named-person rule for them sits above the team rule, or should |
| Someone matched nothing and got the default | Their department in Signed does not match the spelling in the rule |
| Everyone's signature changed overnight | Someone swapped the default, or edited the design the default points at |
| It was right yesterday | Check the audit log. It will name the person and the change |
Watch out: A department renamed in Microsoft 365 arrives as a new department. Any rule still matching the old name quietly stops matching, and those people fall back to the default.
If it is only wrong in Outlook
The add-in fetches the signature when a message is opened, so a message that was open before your change keeps the old one. If Signed couldn't be reached, the add-in uses its last saved copy, which can also be out of date.
- The deploy page preview is always current. If that is right and Outlook is wrong, it's an older message or a saved copy.
- A fresh message shows the new signature.
- Check for changes in the Signed pane asks for it again straight away.
Fixing it without breaking something else
- Change one rule's priority, or repoint one rule, and nothing else.
- Preview the person who was wrong.
- Preview someone else who matched the rule you just changed, to confirm they still get what they should.
- Check the reach counts on both signatures. They tell you the change landed where you meant it to.
Tip: Renumbering every rule at once is how a small fix turns into a large incident. Move one number, check two people, and stop.
Related articles
- How Signed decides who gets which signatureThe one decision Signed makes on every email: which signature to use. Here is the logic, in order.
- Test your rules before you rely on themFour checks that catch a rule pointing at the wrong signature before anyone notices in Outlook.
- The audit logEvery change, who made it and when, including changes made through the API.
Something here out of date, or a step that did not work? Tell us and we will fix the article. Every page is checked against the running product, so corrections are welcome.