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We are migrating some applications from SharePoint 2019 to SharePoint online. The applications use remote event receivers using synchronous events. We can’t migrate to webhooks because they don’t support synchronous events. So, we are also migrating the remote event receivers to SharePoint online. They work fine against online. We are using ACS to connect to SharePoint. However, I was having a discussion on Github and Vesa mentioned that ACS will be deprecated. See the question here: https://github.com/SharePoint/sp-dev-docs/issues/9235

We are now rebuilding the remote event receivers to use an Azure AD app. This also works for us. We took these steps to create and connect a RER to our SharePoint online list without the need for ACS.

  1. Create an Azure AD app with sites.selected permissions on SharePoint api
  2. Create a certificate and add to the app
  3. Add fullcontrol permissions for the app with Grant-PnPAzureADAppSitePermission on my site collection
  4. Log in with PnP.PowerShell using Connect-PnpOnline [tenant.sharepoint.com] -ClientId [clientid] -CertificatePath c:\temp\certs\test.pfx -CertificatePassword $password -Tenant '[mytenant].onmicrosoft.com'
  5. Add a RER to my list using Add-PnPEventReceiver
  6. Host the RER locally using devtunnel or Ngrok

We see the RER firing after this.

I am wondering what is the future of remote event receivers in general? Will they stay supported for SharePoint online? Or should we rethink about our migration project and step away from remote event receivers?

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Vesa has stated on multiple occasions that the Add-in model and Azure ACS will be deprecated at some point. I guess the question is when it will actually happen. My guess is that it will be sooner than later. I know this response is 100% opinion but I hope it helps.

You may find this video to be valuable if you choose to explore alternative options: Transform SharePoint Add-in model Remote Event Receivers to Webhooks. Power Automate could also be an option.

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  • The issue with webhooks and flows is, that they are async. We have logic in our current event receivers that require sync actions Commented Oct 4, 2023 at 9:44
  • You're correct, these technologies don't support sync actions and I don't believe Microsoft has any plans to add sync actions to webhooks or flow. However, this is an issue you are going to have to face at some point. You can implement alternatives now while you're doing your migration or you can go with remote event receivers now and then have to implement alternatives when Microsoft finally announces end-of-life of Add-ins and Azure ACS. Commented Oct 4, 2023 at 10:14
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I might be completely wrong on this, but it's my understanding that web hooks are an additional layer that are built on remote event receivers, and in turn, Flow connector/triggers are built on webhooks.

So with both webhooks and Flows depending on event receivers, it would be hard to see them being pulled out. They could however restrict who can register them I guess.

To demonstrate my findings, I used PnP Powershell to list all the event receivers on a brand new site/Document library. The second listing shows additional event receivers that were added after I created a flow triggered by adding a document to the library.

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Also, if you list the details of one of those SPWebhookItemEventReceiver entries, you can see a reference to the flow I created.

enter image description here

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  • SharePoint webhooks and SharePoint Add-in model Remote Event Receivers are different things. In the SharePoint Add-in model you can create Remote Event Receivers, which can be used to handle events related to a list item, a list, a website, an app, a BCS entity, or a security configuration. The Remote Event Receivers rely on a SOAP communication channel that allows an external SOAP service to get notifications of events. The events can be synchronous or asynchronous. From a technological point of view, a Remote Event Receiver is implemented as a Windows Communication Framework (WCF) service. Commented Oct 4, 2023 at 7:50
  • Nowadays, SOAP and the WCF framework are quite old technologies and you often need to intercept events from external platforms that are not necessarily Windows or Microsoft based. As such, Microsoft introduced a new model based on Webhooks that replaces the "old-school" Remote Event Receivers. In fact, the new webhooks rely on REST instead of SOAP and can target any platform. In this new model, when an event is triggered, SharePoint sends a POST request to a registered target endpoint using REST, with JSON over HTTP. Commented Oct 4, 2023 at 7:51
  • The content of my comments above come from "Transform SharePoint Add-in model Remote Event Receivers to SharePoint Online Webhooks" (learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/sp-add-ins-modernize/…). Commented Oct 4, 2023 at 7:52
  • We indeed had a look at webhooks. But we need to use sync events to execute some of our logic. Webhooks don't support sync events. Commented Oct 4, 2023 at 9:49
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MC693865 · Provider Hosted Apps Retirement

Will impact all provider hosted apps using ACS and the RER's that were registered using the app...

Since the release of SharePoint Add-Ins in 2013, Microsoft has evolved SharePoint extensibility using SharePoint Framework (SPFx) enabling you to write applications that can be used in Microsoft SharePoint, Viva Connections and Microsoft Teams. With our continued investment in SharePoint Framework, Microsoft is retiring SharePoint Add-Ins.

Key Points:

Major: Retirement Timeline: Starting July 1st, 2024, SharePoint Add-Ins cannot be installed from the public marketplace, also referred to as store by existing tenants. Installation from a private tenant catalog stays possible. Starting November 1st, 2024, new tenants will not be able use SharePoint Add-Ins, regardless of their origin (public marketplace, private tenant catalog). Starting April 2nd, 2026, Microsoft will remove the ability use SharePoint Add-Ins for existing tenants. There will not be an option to extend SharePoint Add-Ins beyond April 2nd 2026. Action: Review and assess impact

How this will affect your organization

If your organization still uses SharePoint Add-Ins, they will no longer function after April 2nd, 2026. We recommend customers to port their customizations to SharePoint Framework (SPFx) and ask their solution vendors for updated solutions.

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  • I am able to create a RER that uses an Azure App Registration and authenticates using a certificate. This works without ACS. I only want to know if event firing for remote event receivers will stay in place Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 16:01
  • @Danny nope... after April 2026, remote event receivers will no longer fire for existing tenants. They will not be enabled on new tenants created after November 2024. They are part of the SharePoint Add-in retirement plan. More here: voitanos.io/blog/… Commented Feb 8, 2024 at 21:58
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Bert Jansen mentioned that even RER using Azure App Authentication will not fire after April 2026. We need more time for the transition from RER to Web Hook or an alternative for synchronous event processing, so please make your comments to convince the guys at Microsoft. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sharepoint-blog/sharepoint-add-in-retirement-in-microsoft-365/ba-p/3982035

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  • I added a comment with an example. I am able to create a RER without any ACS need. I would like to know if this will keep working. Commented Dec 13, 2023 at 18:56
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MS recently updated their articles with a warning than even non-ACS dependent event receivers will be retired (one year after the ACS-based ones). The below text is taken from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/sp-add-ins-modernize/use-remote-event-receivers-without-azure-acs-dependency:

Although these RERs do not depend on Azure ACS they still will retire, the main difference is that they'll keep working until July 1, 2027 and that they'll also work for new tenants onboarding after November 1, 2024. RERs depending on Azure ACS will follow the Azure ACS retirement path, so they'll stop working on April 2, 2026 and for new tenants onboarding after November 1, 2024 they'll not work anymore. Check out this blog post to learn more.

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I opened a ticket with Microsoft Office 365 support, and they told me RER are getting retired. See full answer from MS below:

Edit 20.06.24: Using an azure app with sites.selected permission will allow the usage of RER until 1. july 2027. Note that this will not give you a contextoken, to perform changes on behalf of the user. You must use application permissions. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sharepoint-blog/remote-event-receivers-retirement-update-in-sharepoint-online/ba-p/4068938

Hello xxxx,

Hope you are doing well.

Thank you for your response. we have checked on the backend and found the below details for reference. you can refer the below details. I hope this will help you regarding your query.

Yes, remote event receivers are expected to be retired in April 2026 alongside the deprecation of Azure Access Control Service (ACS). As remote event receivers rely on ACS for authentication, they will no longer function once ACS is turned off. Here's what you need to know:

Timeline: • November 27, 2023: SharePoint Add-in model is retired. This means no new investments will be made in the model, but existing add-ins will continue to be supported. • April 2026: Azure ACS is retired, leading to the retirement of remote event receivers. Impact: • Apps relying on remote event receivers will no longer receive notifications about events in SharePoint. • Synchronous events, which allow apps to block or cancel SharePoint actions, will no longer be possible. Alternatives: • Microsoft Graph Change Notifications: These notifications provide a modern alternative to remote event receivers. They offer asynchronous notifications and support for various SharePoint entities. • SharePoint Online Webhooks: These webhooks are another alternative to remote event receivers. They offer a REST-based approach for subscribing to SharePoint events and receiving notifications. Recommendations: • Migrate existing remote event receivers to Microsoft Graph Change Notifications or SharePoint Online Webhooks as soon as possible. • Plan your migration carefully to minimize disruptions. • Consider using the SharePoint Framework for new development instead of the retired Add-in model. Here are some resources to help you with the migration: • Transform SharePoint Add-in model Remote Event Receivers to SharePoint Online Webhooks: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/apis/webhooks/get-started-webhooks • SharePoint REST API for Webhooks: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/kaizala/connectors/webhooks • Microsoft Graph Change Notifications: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/api/resources/webhooks?view=graph-rest-1.0

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