Unable to start cloud shell

Anas Al Shalabi 20 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
2026-03-04T10:19:01.6933333+00:00

Since few days I am unable to open cloud shell at all, it says InvalidSubscription. I verified my subscription is active and I am under the correct tenant but still it keeps failing every time with the same error. Tried signing out, clearing cache, and no luck.

Requesting a Cloud Shell.Sorry, your Cloud Shell failed to provision: {"code":"InvalidSubscription","message":"Invalid subscription identifier provided."} Please refresh the page. If the issue persists, please follow the troubleshooting guide Cloud Shell Troubleshooting or file a ticket New support request. Request correlation id: SOUTHCENTRALUS:20260304T100911Z:0011b7d2-1266-4d02-9272-21067515275f

Azure Storage
Azure Storage

Globally unique resources that provide access to data management services and serve as the parent namespace for the services.

Answer accepted by question author
Bharath Y P 10,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-03-04T11:45:46.11+00:00

Hello Anas Al Shalabi, You’re encountering the error: {"code":"InvalidSubscription","message":"Invalid subscription identifier provided."}. This means Cloud Shell cannot validate the subscription ID it’s trying to use. Even though your subscription is active and you’re under the correct tenant, Cloud Shell fails to provision.

Verify the RBAC Permissions: Check Subscription > Access Control (IAM) > View My Access. You must have: Owner or Contributor

Required Resource Providers Not Registered: Go to Azure portal > Subscription > Resource Providers. Ensure these are Registered:

  • Microsoft.Storage
  • Microsoft.Resources
  • Microsoft.ContainerInstance
  • Microsoft.CloudShell

If not, please register them.

You can verify that the subscription is visible in Azure CLI, the subscription state is Enabled or the subscription ID matches the one used in the Azure Portal:

az account list --output table az account show

This is a very valid diagnostic step for InvalidSubscription.

  • Make sure your target subscription is listed, has “State: Enabled,” and matches the one you’re selecting in the portal.
  • If it’s not listed or it’s disabled, that’s why Cloud Shell can’t provision storage.

If the Subscription not Listed

az login

Then recheck:

az account list --output table

 

If the Subscription listed but wrong Subscription Is Default

Set correct subscription manually:

az account set --subscription "SUBSCRIPTION_ID"

Verify:

az account show

Then retry Cloud Shell.

If Cloud Shell previously worked, reset user settings

  • Open Cloud Shell.
  • Select the Settings (gear) icon in the Cloud Shell toolbar.
  • Choose Reset user settings and confirm.
  • Reopen Cloud Shell and reselect shell and subscription; then configure storage or ephemeral session again.

Follow the Cloud Shell Troubleshooting guide Azure Cloud Shell Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Microsoft Learn

Hope this helps. and please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Thanks

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  1. Anas Al Shalabi 20 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
    2026-03-04T11:57:13.01+00:00

    Resetting the user settings fixed the issue, thanks.

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