Can not connect to my VM.

Question

Cannot connect to my VM. Try all the suggested processes, none have worked yet. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Hello, @Delbert Tyler ! Let's make sure that you've gone through all of the basic troubleshooting steps which I've included below. If that doesn't work, then it's time to look at the detailed troubleshooting steps. If you are still unable to connect, let us know in the comments and we will investigate this further.

I can't connect to my VM. What should I do?

Windows/RDP:

If you are trying to connect to your VM via Remote Desktop (RDP), there are some troubleshooting guides that will help you through the process. Basic troubleshooting steps include the following (attempt to reconnect after each step):

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/troubleshoot-rdp-connection

1. Reset Remote Desktop configuration.
2. Check Network Security Group rules / Cloud Services endpoints.
3. Review VM console logs.
4. Reset the NIC for the VM.
5. Check the VM Resource Health.
6. Reset your VM password.
7. Restart your VM.
8. Redeploy your VM.

Additionally, there are detailed troubleshooting steps for remote desktop connection issues to Windows VMs in Azure if basic troubleshooting has not worked:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/detailed-troubleshoot-rdp

Linux/SSH:

If you are trying to connect to your VM via SSH, there are equivalent guides:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/troubleshoot-ssh-connection

1. Reset the SSH configuration.
2. Reset the credentials for the user.
3. Verify the network security group rules permit SSH traffic and role assignment.
   • Ensure that a Network Security Group rule exists to permit SSH traffic (by default, TCP port 22).
   • You cannot use port redirection / mapping without using an Azure load balancer.
   • If you are using Microsoft Entra ID to manage SSH logins, the user must be assigned the Virtual Machine Administrator Login or Virtual Machine User Login role on the resource group that contains the VM and its associated resources. Otherwise, the "Permission denied (publickey)" error will be received. For more information, see Configure role assignments for the VM that uses Microsoft Entra login.
4. Check the VM resource health.
   • Ensure that the VM reports as being healthy.
   • If you have boot diagnostics enabled, verify the VM is not reporting boot errors in the logs.
5. Restart the VM.
6. Redeploy the VM.

Detailed SSH troubleshooting steps for issues connecting to a Linux VM in Azure if basic troubleshooting does not work:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/detailed-troubleshoot-ssh-connection

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