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Question

Updating a component instance in a duplicated frame changes the original frame – how to stop sync?

  • August 21, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 10 views
Natalia_BRAC

Hi everyone,

I’m running into an issue when designing interactive flows across frames and I’m not sure if it’s a setting or a bug.

The problem:

  1. I place a component instance (e.g., a status tag) inside a completed frame.

  2. I duplicate the entire frame to show a second screen state in the flow.

  3. When I modify the instance in the new frame (e.g., changing the status tag’s text, color, or adding a new tag, these are all variants), the changes sync back to the first frame, making both frames identical.

I need each frame to represent a distinct state in the flow. Right now, the only workaround I've found is detaching instances, which ruins component maintainability.

Has anyone experienced this, and how can I edit component instances in duplicated frames independently without detaching them?

1 reply

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hey ​@Natalia_BRAC 👋 Welcome to our community!

Changes you make to an instance like text, fill, stroke, effects, should stay local to that instance.

Could you share a short screen recording with the layers panel open, full screen and not zoomed in, showing the edit in the duplicated frame and the first frame changing at the same moment? Seeing which layer is selected at that instant is the going to be super helpful.

Two questions:

  • Does the change hit only the other frame, or every instance of that tag in the file?
  • Is the tag's color or text connected to a variable or style? Changing a variable's value updates everywhere it's used

One consideration: Instances only let you override properties like text, fill, stroke, and effects. If part of that edit is landing on the main component instead, that would explain both frames moving together. https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039150733-Apply-changes-to-instances 

Talk soon! — Jaycee

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