Fix error 0x00002025 AD compare false

When does error 0x00002025 show up?

You're running an LDAP compare operation—maybe through a script, a third-party tool, or even dsquery—and it fails with ERROR_DS_COMPARE_FALSE (0x00002025). The exact message reads: “The compare response was false.”

I've seen this most often when:

A scheduled PowerShell script uses [ADSI] or System.DirectoryServices to compare an attribute (like employeeID or extensionAttribute1) against a value, and it gets back false even though you know the value is right.
An application (like an HR sync tool) does an LDAP compare to check if a user's memberOf attribute includes a specific group. The compare fails, and the app refuses to grant access.
A domain controller (DC) that's out of sync with its replication partners returns stale data, making the compare come back false.

The trigger is almost always a DC that's not fully up-to-date for the object you're comparing. Less common is an actual mismatch—like a typo in the attribute value.

What's really happening?

LDAP compare is a simple operation: you send “does attribute X equal value Y?” and the DC answers true or false. Error 0x00002025 means the DC answered false—not because the compare is broken, but because the DC's knowledge of that attribute doesn't match what you expect.

Root causes break down into four buckets:

Replication lag. A recent change (like adding the user to a group) hasn't replicated to the DC you're querying. The DC sees the old state and says false.
Stale cache on the DC itself. The DC's own in-memory copy of the directory hasn't flushed. This is rare, but I've seen it after a quick AD restore or partial repair.
Attribute mismatch. The value being compared has a different format—maybe a trailing space, different case (if the attribute isn't case-sensitive by default), or a different LDAP syntax (like comparing a string to an octet string).
Referral issue. The DC doesn't host the object's partition (rare in single-domain setups, but common in multi-forest environments). The compare gets redirected, and the response comes back false because the referral chain broke.

In my experience, #1 is the culprit 80% of the time. #2 comes next—especially after a DC reboot or patching. #3 and #4 happen, but they're less common.

How to fix error 0x00002025

Before you run any commands, figure out which DC the compare is hitting. If your script or tool doesn't specify a DC, it's using the closest one (based on site costs). Run this to check:

nltest /dsgetdc:yourdomain.com

That tells you the DC name. Write it down.

Step 1 – Force replication to that DC

You need the other DCs to push their latest data to the DC that's giving the false answer. Open PowerShell as admin on a DC that has the correct data (not the problematic one). Then run:

repadmin /syncall yourproblematicdc.yourdomain.com /AdeP

Replace yourproblematicdc with the DC from the nltest command. The /AdeP flags force a full sync. Watch the output—you should see “Sync initiated” for each naming context.

After this step: Wait 30 seconds for the inbound replication to complete. Then test the compare again.

Step 2 – Clear the DC's local cache (if Step 1 didn't work)

This is a bigger hammer. It forces the DC to dump its in-memory directory cache. You'll need to stop and restart the NTDS service, which also restarts the Kerberos KDC and Netlogon services. That means a brief authentication hiccup—do this during a maintenance window.

On the problematic DC, open Command Prompt as admin.
Run: net stop ntds
Wait for it to finish (may take up to a minute).
Then: net start ntds

After this step: The DC will reload the directory from disk. Test the compare again. If it still fails, move to Step 3.

Step 3 – Check the attribute value directly

Connect to the DC with ldp.exe (included with RSAT) or PowerShell and read the full attribute. This confirms whether the value is what you think it is.

Using PowerShell on any machine with the Active Directory module:

Get-ADUser username -Properties * | Select-Object employeeID, memberOf

Use the exact attribute your compare is checking. Look for hidden characters: trailing spaces, tabs, or Unicode characters that look like ASCII but aren't. For example, a non-breaking space (U+00A0) looks identical to a regular space but will make the compare false.

If you see a mismatch, fix the attribute's value directly and then replicate again (Step 1).

Step 4 – Verify replication health across all DCs

Sometimes the problem isn't isolated to one DC—it's a broader replication failure. Run this to check:

repadmin /replsummary

Look for any row that says FAIL or ERROR. Those DCs need attention. Common failures include:

DNS issues – one DC can't resolve the other's hostname.
Firewall blocks – port 135, 389, 636, or 445 blocked between DCs.
Time skew – DCs more than 5 minutes apart in system time.

Fix those issues first, then re-run Step 1.

If it still fails

You've tried Steps 1 through 4 and the compare is still returning false. Now you're in the edge case territory. Here's what I'd check next:

Schema attribute flags. Some attributes have searchFlags that disallow comparison. Check the attribute's searchFlags value in the schema—if bit 1 is set (the fSingleValued flag), that's fine, but if it's something weird, the compare might be silently failing.
Cross-forest compare. If you're comparing an attribute from a trusted forest, the DC might be returning false because it can't validate the attribute across the trust. You'll need to query the other forest's DC directly.
Application or script bug. Read the code. I once spent two hours chasing this error only to find the script was comparing objectGUID (a binary value) against a string representation. The LDAP compare was technically correct—the values were never going to match.

If none of that works, enable LDAP logging on the problematic DC at level 5 (least verbose) to capture the compare operation. Then filter the log for 0x2025 to see exactly what attribute and value the DC received. You'll get the raw DN and the attribute oid, which often reveals the mismatch.