SharePoint Web Parts do not recover correctly when using browser back button

[bcameron1231]

Target SharePoint environment

SharePoint Online

What SharePoint development model, framework, SDK or API is this about?

💥 SharePoint Framework

Developer environment

Windows

What browser(s) / client(s) have you tested

• 💥 Internet Explorer
• 💥 Microsoft Edge
• 💥 Google Chrome
• 💥 FireFox
• 💥 Safari
• mobile (iOS/iPadOS)
• mobile (Android)
• not applicable
• other (enter in the "Additional environment details" area below)

Additional environment details

SPFx 1.21.1 (Though it affects all versions of SPFX and first-party SharePoint Web Parts)

Describe the bug / error

When a user clicks a link from Page1.aspx to Page2.aspx and presses the Browser back button mid-navigation event, the SharePoint page lifecycle is not recovering correctly. The Browser URL accurately shows Page1.aspx, but the Web Parts are still trying to load from Page2.aspx

This is causing an issue with our custom web parts which utilize URL parameters. As we load a page such as Page2.aspx?k="" and the Web Parts are loading data based on that... however pressing back changes the URL, but doesn't change the loaded Web Parts. However, to demonstrate, this behavior also exists in first party scenarios using out of the box components.

See below. I click a link from News Web Part, and while it's loading the News page, I press back in the browser. The URL correctly updates, but the page is still loading the previous news page web parts.

SharePoint.navigation.issue.mp4

We can mitigate this issue in custom code by disabling data-interception, however, we cannot control the out of the box experience. Also, disabling data-interception to off is not a great experience due to the performance impact.

This behavior has manifested itself in the past in various ways, but I believe them to all be related:
#8913
#5604

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a News Page
2. On the home page, add a News Part that loads the News
3. Click on the News Article
4. Press back in the browser before the page full loads

Expected behavior

When pressing back in the browser mid navigation event, the SharePoint page should correctly recover the proper Web Parts for the loaded page... whether using first-party web parts or custom SPFx web parts.

[Ashlesha-MSFT]

Hello @bcameron1231
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We will look into it and get back to you shortly.

[Ashlesha-MSFT]

Hi @bcameron1231,
Thanks for the detailed report and video.

I tried to reproduce using the same scenario:

1. Added News web part on a page
2. Opened a News article from the web part
3. Pressed browser Back during navigation

In my test, the browser returned to the previous page and the page/web part state also appeared correct, so I am currently seeing expected behavior and could not reproduce yet.

Could you please help us with a bit more detail so we can align exactly with your setup?

• Exact page types used (site page/news page for source and target)
• Whether this reproduces on first-party web parts only in your tenant (without custom SPFx)
• Browser + version where repro is most reliable
• Repro frequency (for example 3/5 attempts)
• A short recording with visible timing of click and Back action
• Any console errors and, if possible, a HAR capture

If we match your exact timing/setup and reproduce, we will mark and route accordingly. Thanks again for helping us narrow this down.

[bcameron1231]

Thank you @Ashlesha-MSFT

• This happens on Site Pages and News Pages
• This happens first-party and third-party
• I'm using Chrome Version 149.0.7827.201 but it happens in all browsers
• I can reproduce it nearly every time. It's certainly based on timing though.
• It occurs in every tenant I've tested so far.
• There is a recording of the behavior in the description of the ticket showing the visible timing and use of the back button using First Party web parts.

[Ashlesha-MSFT]

Hi @bcameron1231
Thank you for the additional details. Given the first-party cross-tenant evidence and the recording provided, we are routing this to the product team for further investigation. We will also raise a bug with them to review the navigation and page-state recovery behavior when the browser Back button is used during in-progress navigation.

[bcameron1231]

Thank you @Ashlesha-MSFT , I look forward to seeing what comes back from the Product Team.