Changing instance via variable resets text (and other properties) when inside component

Sorry to hear that, ​@Frank_K! 

As mentioned above, this is a long-standing bug that the team likely won’t be able to fix. 

For one-on-one support and possible alternative solutions, please feel free to reach out to our technical quality team here: https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 

This is still an issue even after following the directions to fix as Frank said.

For me, this is specifically happening when changing the text within the instance when using a component that has a text property applied to it (a link component in this case).

If I go to the master component and remove the text property and publish, and then update the instance, the issue is gone. No matter how many times I try to tinker with resets in the instance I’m still getting the issue unless I apply this change. 

Ideally I wouldn’t have to remove the text property from the master component of course - any other suggestions?

*EDIT: This is actually only happening where the master component is used in a component, and then that component is nested within in another component. The below screenshots show the before and after states of each instance / nested instance - you can see how the “New Label” text in the Component 2 instance resets on the boolean variable change. One thing to note is that the variable is NOT applied to the Component 1 instance in the master of Component 2, it’s only applied in the instance of Component 2 - this is necessary for my use case as I don’t want this variable to be applied to all instances of Component 2

I can’t believe this is still happening? Wasn’t happening for me before, but now switching modes (large / small variables) reset nested components. I’ts breaking everything on my end.. dunno how to workaround this.. but work in a dummy unorganized way

Issue Description

When creating a Component (or Component with Variants) that contains text layers, after updating the text content and using the component for a period of time (e.g. around one month), the text content unexpectedly resets back to the original default text defined at the time the component was first created.

This happens without any manual reset or explicit action from the designer.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a component (or component variants) with text layers (e.g. Alert component).
2. Set default placeholder text when creating the component (e.g. {Title}, default description).
3. Update the text content to real product copy.
4. Save and continue using the component.
5. After a long period of time (e.g. weeks or ~1 month), reopen the file or review existing instances.

Expected Behavior

• Text overrides in component instances should persist.
• Text content should only reset when the user explicitly:
• Resets the instance
• Detaches the instance
• Or intentionally applies updates from the main component

Actual Behavior

• Text content reverts back to the original placeholder text.
• No warning, confirmation, or activity log indicates that the reset occurred.
• The reset happens silently and is only noticed during review or QA.

Example

Component: Alert – Error variant

Initial component text:

• Title: {Title}
• Description: You can insert a description for the message here…

Updated with real copy for product usage.

After some time, the instance text automatically resets to the original placeholder content.

Impact

• Loss of validated and approved product copy
• High risk for Design System–based workflows
• Creates inconsistencies across production-ready designs
• Designers may not detect the issue until late in the process

Possible Causes (Hypothesis)

• Text layers in the main component overriding instance text unexpectedly
• Library publishing behavior affecting text overrides
• Variant updates unintentionally resetting text content
• State persistence issue when files are inactive for long periods

Suggested Improvements

• Warning or notification when text overrides are reset
• Change history or activity log for text overrides
• Ability to lock text overrides at the instance level
• Clearer documentation on how component updates affect text content

Yes I have similar experience creating components in Figma Site, hoping this bug can be fixed as soon as possible.

I think this happens when someone updates the library and you get the updates without looking one by one… and then it backs to the original text or icon.

Same problem and I don’t understand why Figma won’t fix this! They keep adding features, especially AI, but ignoring known issues that have been bugs forever now!

Very annoying bug

We have the same issue
Any best practice how to solve this?

I'm experiencing this problem in one component that is published and updated in a library. No new changes has been made and the even though the component instance is updated after a change of variable, the original text keeps overriding the text in the instance. I'm trying to figure out what is going on but it's persistently happening.

It is sad, but no solution until now. People from Design System team need to be careful with what they are updating in the component, or that happens.