Missing transactions on some Vanguard accounts and accounts switch to Simple after download

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This discussion was created from comments split from:

Vanguard transactions not downloading, possible new issue?

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meco

Ok, I have a similar problem with missing Vanguard transactions in SOME but not all accounts. These missing transactions are ALL on my account on vanguard.com and have all posted days ago. I am also VERY familiar with the deactivate/relinking accounts. Yes, the missing transaction appear using direct QFX from vanguard's download center. All this was working BEFORE the March Quicken/Vanguard or Vanguard/Quicken problems. [Edited - Language]

One thing I noticed on the accounts that have missing transactions, after deactivating/relinking, I specifically set the tracking method to "Complete" and after relinking the accounts, just after the downloads complete, in the next instant the tracking method switches to "Simple" ?

What besides waiting 1-1.5 weeks like OP did can I try ?

Quicken Kristina

Hello @meco,

Thank you for letting us know you're seeing this issue. To clarify, since you mentioned the problem accounts keep switching to Simple tracking, do the missing transactions appear when you change the problem accounts back to Complete tracking? Do the problem accounts stay set to Complete after the first time you change them back, or are they switching to Simple on their own every time you update the accounts? Are no transactions at all downloading into the problem accounts (unless you use QFX to import them)?

I look forward to your response!

Jim_Harman

@meco

You say you are familiar with deactivating and relinking accounts, but have you followed the exact procedure below, particularly going to Add account rather than clicking on Set up now after deactivating?

[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.

meco

To Jim : Yes, I used ADD account rather than Setup now…that was step 11 of your procedure, that I used EXACTLY.

To Kristina: The problem accounts switch to Simple from Complete on their own and the missing transactions are still missing unless I use QFX import. Could this be a Vanguard problem ?

Jim_Harman

The important Add account step is at Step 7.

And if these are longstanding accounts, in Step 4 did you confirm that you are using the correct account numbers to connect? The numbers you need to use may be different from the ones that you use for QFX downloads.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply,

It's possible that some of the problem is a Vanguard issue (the missing transactions), but accounts shouldn't be switching the investment tracking method without your input. Are your investment accounts set to default to Simple tracking in Preferences?

When did you first notice this behavior? What is the file location for your Quicken file? You can check the file location by clicking the File menu option in your Quicken program. Near the bottom, just above where it says Exit, it should show as many as the last 4 Quicken files you've accessed, with the file you're currently in at the #1 spot.

Is your file synced with any cloud service, such as OneDrive, iCloud, or DropBox?

Thank you!

meco

Kristina: All accounts DO NOT have Default to Simple for new accounts. I noticed in your example that "show hidden transactions" is checked. My accounts do not have this set. Does this matter ? I noticed this behavior a few days ago. I will check several backups to see when it does not do the switching. The missing transactions have been around, on some accounts, since March. I've started to just using QFX from Vanguard to get all transactions without missing any.

Jim: The vanguard account numbers are the same.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply,

You don't need to have "Show hidden transactions" set. What the option does is allow you to see all transactions, including placeholders and balance adjustments.

Thank you!

meco

Jim, Kristina: I did a backup from April 11, the oldest backup I have and deactivated all vanguard accounts and added them back per Jim's Step 7…ALL transactions downloaded via DirectConnect!!! No missing transactions. No switching from Simple to Complete. So I'm calling it working again. Thanks for your help.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for the follow-up,

I'm glad to hear restoring a backup from 11 April corrected the issue.

If you need further assistance, please feel free to reach out!

Robert Chiarulli

Thanks Jim Harman. Discovered my data file had the download issue recently when I reconciled the accounts to a vanguard statement. Followed your instructions after trying to solve on my own.