Domain register and update for remotewebaccess.com Anywhere access broken on Server 2016 Again?

Question

I was setting up a new Server 2016 install and when I went through the wizard to set up the remote web access domain I ran into a screen saying that an error had occurred, and to try again later. Looking at the dashboard.log from that server this is what I see:

[7108] 221114.095434.4844: DomainConfigWizard: Parsing stop url ...  
[7108] 221114.095434.5000: DomainConfigWizard: Parsing stop url finished  
[7108] 221114.095434.8438: DomainConfigWizard: Parsing stop url ...  
[7108] 221114.095434.8438: DomainConfigWizard: Parsing stop url finished  
[7108] 221114.095434.8438: DomainConfigWizard: EnableCloseButton in Live Signin Dialog failed.  
[7108] 221114.095434.8438: DomainConfigWizard: Try to get live account name from https://directory.services.live.com/profile/profile.asmx ...  
[7108] 221114.095435.0314: DomainConfigWizard: Failed to get live account name from live profile service  
[7108] 221114.095435.0314: DomainConfigWizard: Try to get live account name from https://directory.services.live.com/profile/profile.asmx ...  
[7108] 221114.095435.0314: DomainConfigWizard: Failed to get live account name from live profile service  
[7108] 221114.095435.0314: DomainConfigWizard: Try to get live account name from https://directory.services.live.com/profile/profile.asmx ...  
[7108] 221114.095435.0314: DomainConfigWizard: Failed to get live account name from live profile service  
[7108] 221114.095435.0314: DomainConfigWizard: Get live account name failed  
[7108] 221114.095435.0626: DomainConfigWizard: SetCredentialsCompleted, Result:True  
[6476] 221114.095449.2525: DomainManagerObjectModel: Calling KeepAlive for instanceID=1  
[6476] 221114.095449.2525: DomainManagerObjectModel: KeepAlive succeeded for instanceID=1  
[5004] 221114.095452.2217: DomainManagerObjectModel: Calling KeepAlive for instanceID=2  
[5004] 221114.095452.2217: DomainManagerObjectModel: KeepAlive succeeded for instanceID=2  
[1504] 221114.095456.4881: DomainManagerObjectModel: InvokeAsync: action resulted in exception: System.ServiceModel.FaultException`1[Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.RemoteAccess.Domains.DomainManagerFault]: The creator of this fault did not specify a Reason. (Fault Detail is equal to DomainManagerFault:[Reason:CommunicationFailure, Message:GetUserDomainNames failed, Detail:There was no endpoint listening at https://dyndns.domains.live.com/service/livedyndns.asmx that could accept the message. This is often caused by an incorrect address or SOAP action. See InnerException, if present, for more details. ]).  
[1504] 221114.095456.4881: DomainManagerObjectModel: InvokeAsync: handling exception by transferring to eventArgs  
[7108] 221114.095456.5036: DomainConfigWizard: OnSiginDomainServiceCompleted  
[7108] 221114.095456.5036: DomainConfigWizard: FailReason from Domain Manager Object Model operations: CommunicationFailure  
[7108] 221114.095456.5036: DomainConfigWizard: Signout from live.  
[7108] 221114.095456.5193: DomainConfigWizard: Signin dialog result is Abort  
[7108] 221114.095456.5193: DomainConfigWizard: Error occurred in Domain Manager Object Model operations: Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.RemoteAccess.Domains.DomainException: DomainManagerFault:[Reason:CommunicationFailure, Message:Live Domain Signin failed, Detail:Unexpected error when signing in Live service ]  
   at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.RemoteAccess.Domains.ChooseNewDomainPage.SavePageData()  
   at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.RemoteAccess.Domains.DomainWizardPageBase.GettingNextPageAction(Object sender, GettingTargetPageEventArgs e)  
[7108] 221114.095456.5193: DomainConfigWizard: FailReason from Domain Manager operations: CommunicationFailure  

I spent some time debugging including trying a different microsoft login, trying from a different ip, and re-installing the OS on new server but this time not yet running Windows Update and still saw the same error each time.

I then checked my existing server which has had Anywhere Access configured since 2016 and saw this in the NetworkHealthPlugin-DomainManagementFeature.log:

[7492] 221112.083614.2022: ConnectivityCenter: DDNSUpdateAttemptionInfo.DDNSUpdateStatus: False  
[12264] 221112.083614.2022: ConnectivityCenter: Job finish. Result: Success  
[12264] 221112.083614.2032: ConnectivityCenter: Job DDNSUpdateDiagnosticsJob complete, 100% done.  
[3956] 221112.083614.2122: ConnectivityCenter: Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.Connectivity.Analyzers.DomainNameConfigAnalyzer analyze completed. 0 suggestions found.  
[3956] 221112.083614.2122: ConnectivityCenter: Current SQM Data is 1048575.  
[12208] 221112.083614.2122: ConnectivityCenter: Diagnositcs completed. Status: Success  
[12208] 221112.083614.2122: ConnectivityCenter: Overall status: Good  
[12208] 221112.083614.2122: ConnectivityCenter: Properties updated.  
[5308] 221112.083614.2323: ConnectivityCenter: Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.Connectivity.Analyzers.DomainNameProviderCredentialsAnalyzer analyze completed. 0 suggestions found.  
[5308] 221112.083614.2323: ConnectivityCenter: Current SQM Data is 1048575.  
[9084] 221112.083614.2333: ConnectivityCenter: Diagnositcs completed. Status: Success  
[9084] 221112.083614.2333: ConnectivityCenter: Overall status: Good  
[9084] 221112.083614.2333: ConnectivityCenter: Properties updated.  
[1168] 221112.083614.2524: ConnectivityCenter: DomainNameResolveableInfo.ExternalIP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx  
[6668] 221112.083614.2524: ConnectivityCenter: Job finish. Result: Success  
[6668] 221112.083614.2524: ConnectivityCenter: Job DomainNameResolveableDiagnosticsJob complete, 100% done.  
[2592] 221112.083614.2854: ConnectivityCenter: DDNSUpdateAnalyzer: DDNS update failed, should be manual fixed  

If I look back in the log I see it worked earlier in the day on November 12th so this just started over the weekend:

[9336] 221112.073617.2399: ConnectivityCenter: DDNSUpdateAttemptionInfo.DDNSUpdateStatus: True  
[1952] 221112.073617.2399: ConnectivityCenter: Job finish. Result: Success  
[844] 221112.073617.2409: ConnectivityCenter: Job DDNSUpdateDiagnosticsJob complete, 100% done.  
[224] 221112.073617.2860: ConnectivityCenter: Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.Connectivity.Analyzers.DDNSUpdateAnalyzer analyze completed. 0 suggestions found.  
[224] 221112.073617.2860: ConnectivityCenter: Current SQM Data is 1048575.  
[8236] 221112.073617.2860: ConnectivityCenter: Diagnositcs completed. Status: Success  
[8236] 221112.073617.2860: ConnectivityCenter: Overall status: Good  
[8236] 221112.073617.2860: ConnectivityCenter: Properties updated.  
[12012] 221112.073617.2880: ConnectivityCenter: DomainNameResolveableInfo.ExternalIP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx  
[1360] 221112.073617.2880: ConnectivityCenter: Job finish. Result: Success  
[1360] 221112.073617.2880: ConnectivityCenter: Job DomainNameResolveableDiagnosticsJob complete, 100% done.  

When I started searching I saw that user @Jesse Flintoff experienced the same issue as I did over the weekend as well: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/836775/remotewebaccesscom-anywhere-access-broken-on-serve.html?page=3&pageSize=10&sort=oldest

Last time @Samriddhi Chaturvedi from Microsoft was able to correct similar issues. Hoping they see this new thread for those of us that still use this feature daily.

Answer 1

Me too. 2012 essentials. Cannot release domain. Wrong IP showing after office move. Cannot update. Broken...again

Answer 2

Also confirmed on this German blog post starting 11/11:
https://sbsland.me/2021/03/18/windows-sbe-remotewebaccess-com-update-schlgt-fehlt/

This would appear to be the core issue: "There was no endpoint listening at https://dyndns.domains.live.com/service/livedyndns.asmx that could accept the message." The domain does resolve, but if you try to connect to that address, it times out:

C:\>nslookup dyndns.domains.live.com  
Non-authoritative answer:  
Name:    wssddnsservice.cloudapp.net  
Address:  70.37.77.92  
Aliases:  dyndns.domains.live.com  
  
C:\>curl https://dyndns.domains.live.com/service/livedyndns.asmx  
curl: (28) Failed to connect to dyndns.domains.live.com port 443 after 21091 ms: Timed out  

Answer 3

Same issue for me.

Answer 4

Microsoft tech says they are working on it . See here - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/836775/index.html?page=3&pageSize=10&sort=oldest

Answer 5

Little bit in the dark if I buy a certificate.

As I cannot remove the current one can I just add?

If so which type of certificate. It's for remote desktop in Essentials only?

https://uk.godaddy.com/help/request-my-ssl-certificate-562

Thank you