Bulk Update User Profile Attributes (e.g., City) via Microsoft Graph

Manual approach — Microsoft 365 Admin Center

The GUI is practical only when updating a handful of users. For tenants larger than ~20 accounts, use the API or PowerShell paths below.

Option A: Edit users one at a time

1. Navigate to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Users → Active users.
2. Click a user's display name to open their profile panel.
3. Select the Contact information tab.
4. Click Manage contact information.
5. Update the City field to the target value (e.g., Iasi).
6. Click Save changes.
7. Repeat for each user.

Option B: Bulk edit via CSV (limited attributes)

1. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Users → Active users.
2. Click ⋯ (More actions) → Export users to download the current roster as CSV.
3. Open the CSV and update the City column for the target users.
4. Note: the admin center's built-in import does not support updating existing users — only creation. For bulk updates, proceed to the Graph API or PowerShell methods.

Option C: Microsoft Entra admin center

1. Go to Microsoft Entra admin center → Identity → Users → All users.
2. Open each user, click Edit properties, scroll to Contact information, and update City.
3. Click Save.

The GUI has no native "update all users" button. For anything beyond a few accounts, automate it.

Microsoft Graph API approach

This is a two-phase operation: enumerate then patch. Always enumerate and review targets before writing.

Phase 1 — Enumerate member users and their current city

GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users?$select=id,displayName,userPrincipalName,city,userType&$top=999
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

Page through @odata.nextLink until all users are retrieved. In a large tenant you should filter server-side where possible:

GET /v1.0/users?$filter=userType eq 'Member' and city ne 'Iasi'&$count=true&$select=id,displayName,city
ConsistencyLevel: eventual

The ConsistencyLevel: eventual header is required when combining $filter with ne or $count on the users collection.

Phase 2 — PATCH each target user

PATCH https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/{user-id}
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "city": "Iasi"
}

Expected response: HTTP 204 No Content.

Phase 3 — Bulk via $batch (optional, recommended for >50 users)

Group up to 20 PATCH requests into a single batch call to reduce round-trips:

POST https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$batch
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "requests": [
    {
      "id": "1",
      "method": "PATCH",
      "url": "/users/9a30be11-2f5a-4339-8eee-a327064a87dc",
      "headers": { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
      "body": { "city": "Iasi" }
    },
    {
      "id": "2",
      "method": "PATCH",
      "url": "/users/0d7fb357-de8f-4a7f-b8af-a92c3082e6fd",
      "headers": { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
      "body": { "city": "Iasi" }
    }
  ]
}

Common writable profile attributes

PowerShell approach — Microsoft.Graph module

PowerShell is the most ergonomic path for bulk profile updates. The script below enumerates all member users, filters those whose target attribute doesn't match, shows a preview for confirmation, then applies the change with progress reporting and a CSV rollback log.

Prerequisites

# Install the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK (one-time)
Install-Module Microsoft.Graph -Scope CurrentUser

# Connect with the scopes required for read + write
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All","User.ReadWrite.All","Directory.Read.All"

What the script does

1. Retrieves every member user and the current value of the target attribute.
2. Filters out users who already have the target value (idempotent re-runs).
3. Writes a rollback CSV capturing the pre-change value for each user.
4. Prompts for confirmation unless -Confirm:$false is passed.
5. PATCHes each user with Update-MgUser, reporting progress.
6. Summarizes success/failure counts and writes a results CSV.

See the downloadable script below for the full implementation. To update any other attribute, change the -AttributeName parameter (e.g., department, officeLocation).