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Microsoft Learn page titled What are non-interactive user sign-ins in Microsoft Entra?
Screenshot: Microsoft Learn, What are non-interactive user sign-ins in Microsoft Entra?, last updated February 9, 2026 (fair use).

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Did You Know: Refresh Token Sign-Ins Land in Microsoft Entra's Non-Interactive Log, Not the Default View

Microsoft Entra splits user sign-ins into interactive and non-interactive logs. The admin center opens on the interactive view, while refresh token redemptions, single sign-on and other sign-ins a client performs on a user's behalf are recorded separately, grouped into rows and, in Log Analytics, stored in their own table. An account review that reads only one log sees only part of the activity.

James Whitford, ToolsAustin3 min read

LONDON - When an analyst opens the sign-in logs for a Microsoft Entra account, the first list on screen is not the whole record. Microsoft's documentation says the sign-in logs hold four types of log: interactive user sign-ins, non-interactive user sign-ins, service principal sign-ins and managed identity sign-ins. Interactive user sign-ins are the default view in the Microsoft Entra admin center, and the legacy sign-in logs experience only includes interactive user sign-ins.

Microsoft Learn page explaining that interactive user sign-ins are the default view in the Microsoft Entra admin center.
Screenshot: Microsoft Learn, What are interactive user sign-ins in Microsoft Entra?, last updated February 9, 2026 (fair use).

The split follows who supplies the credential. Microsoft defines interactive sign-ins as those performed by a user who provides an authentication factor, such as a password, a response to an MFA challenge, a biometric factor or a QR code, and that log also includes federated sign-ins. Non-interactive sign-ins are done on behalf of a user by a client app or OS components and do not require the user to provide an authentication factor; Microsoft Entra ID refreshes the user's token behind the scenes. Microsoft's examples include a client app using an OAuth 2.0 refresh token to get an access token, a client using an authorization code to get an access token and refresh token, single sign-on on a Microsoft Entra joined PC, and a sign-in to a second Office app on a mobile device using FOCI, the Family of Client IDs. Microsoft says that as of April 11, 2025, all new sign-ins that obtain a refresh token with FIDO2 keys are logged in the non-interactive log.

Microsoft Learn section showing how non-interactive sign-ins are grouped into a single row.
Screenshot: Microsoft Learn, How does it work? section of What are non-interactive user sign-ins in Microsoft Entra? (fair use).

The non-interactive log also reads differently. Microsoft groups non-interactive sign-ins that are identical apart from date and time into a single row when the application, user, IP address, status and resource ID match, and the # sign-ins column then shows a value greater than one. The Time aggregate filter can be set to 1 hour, 6 hours or 24 hours, and each row can be expanded to show every time stamp. Microsoft adds a caution for investigators: for non-interactive sign-ins performed by confidential clients, the IP address shown is not the actual source IP of the refresh token request but the original IP used when the token was issued.

Microsoft Learn table reference page for AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs in Azure Monitor.
Screenshot: Microsoft Learn, Azure Monitor table reference AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, last updated August 27, 2026 (fair use).

The split carries through to the SIEM. Microsoft Entra diagnostic settings route activity logs to a Log Analytics workspace, an event hub or a storage account, and administrators select one, some or all of the available log categories. Microsoft says the SignInLogs category sends the interactive sign-in logs, while the non-interactive category covers sign-ins done on behalf of a user, where the device or client uses a token or code. In Log Analytics those records arrive in their own table, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, which Microsoft describes as non-interactive Microsoft Entra ID sign-in logs from user, separate from the SigninLogs table its sample sign-in queries use. Microsoft also notes that integrating Microsoft Entra logs with Azure Monitor automatically enables the Microsoft Entra data connector in Microsoft Sentinel.

SOCtember diagram comparing Microsoft Entra interactive and non-interactive user sign-in logs and their Log Analytics tables.
Illustration: SOCtember, interactive and non-interactive user sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra; paraphrased from Microsoft Learn.

For a responder scoping a compromised account, the practical step is to search both. Both tables carry an IsInteractive column, and Microsoft says the user sign-ins category is either interactiveUser or nonInteractiveUser, matching the isInteractive property. The correlation ID groups sign-ins from the same sign-in session, though Microsoft says it is based on parameters passed by a client and cannot be guaranteed, and the unique token identifier correlates a sign-in with its token request. Use CreatedDateTime for when a sign-in happened, because Microsoft says TimeGenerated is the time Log Analytics received the entry. A review that reads only the interactive view shows where a user supplied a factor; the refresh token and single sign-on activity recorded on that user's behalf sits in the non-interactive log.

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James Whitford covers SOC tooling, SIEM, SOAR, and detection platforms for SOCtember from Austin.

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