Azure VM stuck in “Provisioning State: Updating” (Microsoft Azure Sponsorship)

Question

Hello, I have a virtual machine (newvm) running under a Microsoft Azure Sponsorship subscription. Although the Power state shows Running, the Provisioning state is stuck at Updating for a long time.

Details:

Subscription type: Microsoft Azure Sponsorship

Resource Group: bhojmandu

VM Name: newvm

Status:

Power State: Running

  Provisioning State: Updating
  
     Resource Health: Available
     

I’ve tried restarting the VM from the Azure mobile app, but the status remains the same. I also cannot identify any clear reason from the mobile interface.

Request: Could someone guide me on:

What exactly causes this “Updating” state to persist?

How can I resolve it?

Is there a way to force-complete or cancel the pending update?

Is this related to my Sponsorship subscription limitations?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!Hello,

I have a virtual machine running under a Microsoft Azure Sponsorship subscription. Although the Power state shows Running, the Provisioning state is stuck at Updating for a long time.

Details:

Subscription type: Microsoft Azure Sponsorship

• Resource Group: ********
• VM Name: *******

Status:

Power State: Running

  Provisioning State: Updating
  
     Resource Health: Available
     

I’ve tried restarting the VM from the Azure mobile app, but the status remains the same. I also cannot identify any clear reason from the mobile interface.

Request:
Could someone guide me on:

What exactly causes this “Updating” state to persist?

How can I resolve it?

Is there a way to force-complete or cancel the pending update?

Is this related to my Sponsorship subscription limitations?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Sunil Yadav,

The “Provisioning State: Updating” in Azure generally means that the resource is undergoing a configuration or deployment update (e.g., extensions being installed, VM agent actions, or platform-level updates). When it gets stuck, it typically points to a backend issue or a problem with a resource extension/agent.

Look for any extensions stuck in Provisioning State = Updating or Failed: az vm extension list -g MyResourceGroup --vm-name MyVm
If an extension is stuck, try removing or reinstalling it.

Redeploy the VM through the Portal: VM > Settings > Redeploy + reapply
This usually clears stuck provisioning states without data loss.

Reapply the VM Configuration: az vm reapply -g MyResourceGroup -n MyVm
This re-runs the configuration and extensions

While sponsorship subscriptions have some limitations, this specific issue isn't typically related to subscription type unless you're hitting hidden quota limits.

For more information, please check: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/extensions/troubleshoot#troubleshooting-extension-failures

If you have any further queries, let me know. If the information is helpful, please click on Upvote.