Cloning in ServiceNow: Why Your Latest Updates Might Not Appear in Dev/Test

[Sushma Pavani K]

Why Some Update Sets or Data Don’t Sync After a Clone?

When performing a ServiceNow instance clone, you may notice that some update sets, records, or field changes don’t appear in Dev or Test even after the clone completes. This is a common scenario and usually happens due to how backups are scheduled before cloning.

What Happens During a Clone?

Before a clone starts, ServiceNow takes a backup of the source instance (usually Production). However:

• Backups don’t run at a fixed time — they occur sometime within a 24-hour window before the clone.
• Changes made after the backup will not be included in the cloned instance.

This means that even if you pushed updates to Production, they might not appear in Dev or Test if they were committed after the backup was taken.

Example Scenario:

• You committed update sets to Production at 5 PM.
• The clone runs at 7 PM, but the backup used for cloning was taken at 3 PM.

Result:

• Those update sets and other changes made after 3 PM won’t appear in Dev or Test.
• You may also notice missing incidents, cases, or workflow updates.

Tips to Avoid Missing Data

• Avoid moving or committing critical updates to Prod within 24 hours before a scheduled clone.
• Communicate the clone schedule with your team.
• After cloning, verify Dev/Test environments to ensure all updates are present.

Key Points

Cloning is a great way to sync environments, but it doesn’t capture last-minute changes.

Planning your updates around the backup schedule helps avoid surprises and ensures smoother instance management.