how to fix 401 unauthorized to view this page in organization and project

Question

Hi, I know this question asked many times and put full week on it find the solution. I use my gmail account setup on Azure Devops and create an organization and project in it and all this successfully. Issue arise when add collaborator on a project. I tried many things but when my collaborator click on "Join Now" button in their email. collaborator email is also on gmail. when they click on "Join now". they have to ask enter email and then login on github. they done successfully but at end they see 401 error (not authorized). I tried following steps

1. delete project and create again and send invitation
2. delete organization and create again and again send invitation
3. do all above steps in incognito/private mode with edge, chrome and opera
4. my collaborator open gmail incognito/private in different browsers and click join now
5. clearing all history, cookies and all data and signout from gmail and again open email in private/incognito as we search the solution
6. but still we found the 401 error each time.
7. meanwhile some of the collaborators successfully added (they also on gmail and github) but don't know why and why not some facing this error

I am going crazy and cannot understand why it is doing it. Plz any guide me to setup on it

regards

suleman

Answer 1

I understand that you're facing a 401 unauthorized error when adding collaborators to your Azure DevOps project, and you've tried several troubleshooting steps. This error typically indicates that there's an issue with permissions or authentication. Here are some additional steps you can take to address this problem:

Check Collaborator Permissions:

• Ensure that you have correctly assigned the necessary permissions to the collaborators within your Azure DevOps organization and project.
• Make sure they have the appropriate access levels (e.g., Reader, Contributor, or Administrator) based on the role you want them to perform.

Verify GitHub Authentication:

• Ensure that your collaborators are logged in with their GitHub accounts and that their GitHub accounts are associated with their Azure DevOps accounts correctly.
• They should check their GitHub settings and make sure they haven't accidentally revoked access to Azure DevOps.

Double-Check Email Addresses:

• Verify that the email address associated with the collaborators' Azure DevOps accounts matches the email address to which the invitations were sent.
• Sometimes, typos or mismatches can lead to authentication issues.

Security Settings:

• Check if there are any security policies or settings in your Azure DevOps organization that might be affecting the ability to join projects.
• Ensure that your organization's security policies do not restrict access for certain email domains or IP ranges.

Browser Issues:

• Try using a different web browser or clearing the cache and cookies in the current browser to rule out browser-related issues.

Firewall and Network Settings:

• Ensure that there are no firewall or network restrictions preventing access to Azure DevOps or GitHub services.

GitHub Authentication Flow:

• Make sure that your collaborators understand the GitHub authentication process when joining Azure DevOps projects, and they should follow the steps carefully.

Support from Azure DevOps/GitHub:

• If the issue persists, consider reaching out to Azure DevOps and GitHub support for more specific assistance. They may be able to diagnose and resolve the issue.

Log Analysis:

• Check the Azure DevOps logs for any specific error messages or details related to the 401 unauthorized error. This might provide more insights into the root cause.

Test with a Test Account:

• Create a new Azure DevOps account and invite a test Gmail account to see if the issue persists with new accounts. This can help isolate whether it's a broader issue or specific to certain accounts.

Remember to communicate with your collaborators and have them follow the steps carefully during the invitation and authentication process. It's possible that minor mistakes during account setup or authentication could lead to this error.