Vanguard transactions not downloading, possible new issue?

Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭✭
edited April 28 in Investing (Windows)

I have become pretty expert at following the detailed instructions for deactivating and then relinking my Vanguard accounts. So this morning when I noticed that no new transactions have been downloaded to most of my accounts since March 31, I went through the process and deactivated then relinked all of my accounts. But no new transactions were downloaded. Since I know that I have made sales and purchases in April that are not showing in Quicken, I begrudgingly resorted again to the direct Qfx method, which worked for me during the time that Vanguard was blocking all access. However this time even that did not work. At the end of the Qfx download process, I receive the Quicken response "There are no new transactions. However investment balances and holdings have been updated [OL-96-A], and footnote at the bottom of the window says [OL-96-B]". My new holding that I purchased this month does not appear in my holdings in Quicken nor any of the associated transactions. Is this a new issue?

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Comments

  • Moderator mod
    edited April 28

    Hello @brockmari,

    Thanks for reaching out!

    The message you're seeing means that the QFX file you downloaded didn’t contain any new transactions, but Quicken was still able to update your investment holdings and price history.

    Here are a few things to check:

    • First, double-check the date range you selected when downloading the QFX file from Vanguard’s site. Make sure it covers the dates when you know you made those transactions.
    • Also, if the transactions were still pending when you downloaded the file, they usually won't show up yet. Many financial institutions don't include pending transactions in QFX downloads until they fully post, sometimes the next business day.
    • Another helpful step is to create a brand-new Quicken file and import the same QFX file into it. If the transactions show up there, it means they were likely imported before and then accidentally deleted in your original file. (In that case, you could either manually re-enter them or adjust the transaction ID slightly so Quicken treats them as new.) You can create a new file by navigating to File > New > Start from Scratch.

    Finally, suppose you don't see the transactions even when looking directly at Vanguard's website. In that case, it means they weren't included in the QFX download to begin with, and unfortunately, Quicken can only work with the data the financial institution provides.

    Let me know what you find when you check those steps. Thanks!

    -Quicken Jasmine

    Make sure to sign up for the email digest to see a round-up of your top posts.

  • Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭✭

    Here are a few things to check:

    First, double-check the date range you selected when downloading the QFX file from Vanguard’s site. Make sure it covers the dates when you know you made those transactions. [Yes, I selected 1 month which covers the date of the transactions in April. I repeated the process a 2nd time selecting 3 months, with the same result that there are no new transactions.]

    Also, if the transactions were still pending when you downloaded the file, they usually won't show up yet. Many financial institutions don't include pending transactions in QFX downloads until they fully post, sometimes the next business day. [The transactions were made on 4/17/2025 and are settled. They appear in my Vanguard transaction history and the new securities are included in my settled holdings.]

    Another helpful step is to create a brand-new Quicken file and import the same QFX file into it. If the transactions show up there, it means they were likely imported before and then accidentally deleted in your original file. (In that case, you could either manually re-enter them or adjust the transaction ID slightly so Quicken treats them as new.) You can create a new file by navigating to File > New > Start from Scratch. [I created a new empty Quicken file and added the 2 Vanguard accounts with the missing transactions via direct connect. The missing transactions still did not download.]

    Finally, suppose you don't see the transactions even when looking directly at Vanguard's website. In that case, it means they weren't included in the QFX download to begin with, and unfortunately, Quicken can only work with the data the financial institution provides. [Yes, I see the transactions in my account on Vanguard’s website. An additional note is that I remember the day I would have expected the transactions to download, I did get the Quicken pop-up asking if this was a new security to be added to Quicken to which I responded yes. I do see it in my Quicken security list appropriately named as a US Treasury with the correct CUSIP. But the transactions never appeared in the accounts. I’m going to go ahead and enter them manually and hope that when the month end dividend activity occurs the downloads are back to normal.]

  • Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭✭

    OK, trying to enter the transactions manually, it's a bit complex. The securities purchased were TIPS at auction. The confirmation statement is a bit cryptic as the face value of the bond is adjusted by an inflation factor and there is additionally already accrued interest. Is it possible that Quicken is not able to automatically handle this type of security and/or Vanguard does not even attempt to transfer the data to Quicken?

  • Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭

    Exact same problem here. Latest desktop Quicken R62.16 on Windows 11 latest updates installed. My March and April 2025 data is not downloading. Tried disabling and re-enabling online access with no success. No error message or any sign that there is a problem. Just no data is downloading.

    I'm assuming this is a known issue others are having?

    Doug

  • Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭✭
    edited May 1

    Just wanted to confirm that all of my Vanguard DRIPs for April did download to Quicken successfully this morning. Also the TIPs transactions finally were downloaded 1-1/2 weeks after they were showing up in my online account, and matched with the transactions I entered manually last week. So currently all seems to be working for me.

  • Moderator mod

    Thank you for coming back to share! We are happy to hear that your transactions are downloading and your accounts are back in working order!

    -Quicken Jasmine

    Make sure to sign up for the email digest to see a round-up of your top posts.

  • Quicken Windows Subscription SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PegasusT4 From your description, it sounds like you disabled your accounts and then used Set up now to try to re-enable them. Sometimes that doesn't work and you need to follow the following detailed instructions exactly to get your accounts to download again.

    Please let us know if this fixes your downloading issues.

    [updated 3/27/25]

    Here is a summary of the steps needed to reconnect your Vanguard accounts. Some of these steps may not be necessary in every case, but I want to cover as many bases as possible.

    1. Back up your data file in case something goes wrong.
    2. Go to Edit > Preferences > Investments and make sure the "Default to Simple investing for new accounts" box is not checked.
    3. Go to Edit > Preferences > Downloaded transactions and un-check the "Automatically add to investment transaction lists" box if it is not already un-checked. This will give you a chance to review any new transactions to make sure there are no duplicates and the transactions are going to the correct accounts.
    4. Go to each problem account, click on the gear at the top right and select Edit account details. Make a note of the account name and the Vanguard account number.
      For accounts that have been connected since before 2009, when Vanguard converted to their current brokerage platform, you may need to use old account numbers that begin with 2 digits and a V rather than the current 8 digit numbers when re-linking the accounts. If you downloaded transactions using Web Connect (QFX) during the outage, your account numbers may have been changed to the new numbers. If in doubt, open a backup from before the outage, record the correct account numbers, and then return to your working file. You are only using the backup to see what account numbers Quicken was using for Direct Connect before the outage. 
    5. Now for each problem account, click on the gear at the top right, select Edit account details, and then the Online Services tab. If it says the account is set up for transaction download, click on Deactivate. Do not click on “Set up now” after deactivating, you must go through the following steps.
    6. Go to the General tab and now you should be able to select Complete mode. Select that.
    7. At the top of the Accounts bar, usually on the left side of your screen, where all of your accounts are listed, click on the plus sign. This should open the Add account window. Don't worry, you will not be adding any accounts, you will be linking your current Vanguard accounts in Quicken to the corresponding online accounts.
    8. Enter Vanguard and you should see the Vanguard logo on the right. Below the logo, click on Advanced options. Read the permission screen about Quicken and Intuit and click on Continue.
    9. Under How should Quicken connect, select Direct Connect. Click on Next.
    10. Provide your Vanguard username and password, and check the Save to Password Vault if that is how you normally operate. Click on Next.
    11. You will see a list of all your Vanguard accounts. Any accounts that are already connected will be marked Don't add to Quicken. Accounts that you can connect will have entry boxes. For your existing problem accounts DO NOT SELECT THE DEFAULT OF ADD TO QUICKEN. Instead, select Link to existing account and select the Quicken account to use. Do not guess here. If you don't know which account to select or there are Vanguard accounts that you don't want to track, select Don't add to Quicken and only do the accounts you are sure of. You can pick up at step 7 later and reconnect any other accounts later if necessary.
    12. Click on Cancel if you are confused at this point and your accounts will not be re-linked. If you are satisfied, click on Done and your accounts should be set.
    13. Check to make sure any downloaded transactions are going to the correct accounts.

    If you have attempted to update while the accounts were in Simple mode, you may see Added or Removed transactions during that time. You will need to delete these. If there are problems, restore the backup file you saved and you will be back to where you started.

    QWin Premier subscription
  • Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭

    I have several accounts at Vanguard. My IRA account has not had any transactions downloaded since 3/31 while the other accounts have updated OK. I WAS able to import the missing trans via a downloaded file, but I'm concerned that this problem still exists and does not seem to be acknowledged by Quicken. The settings are the same on all the accounts in Quicken and I have NOT changed or reset anything. Any updates?

  • Quicken Windows Subscription Member ✭✭

    @Jim_Harman, the procedure you listed appears to have worked for two Vanguard accounts. Four were syncing just fine, after the outage, whereas my wife's two accounts never did. Thanks!

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.