Attempting to set Admin on SQL Managed Instance fails with error

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Attempting to set Admin on SQL Managed Instance fails with error

Ben Sykes 20

From the Microsoft Entra ID tab of the SQL Managed Instance, attempt to set Admin. The instance has been live for several days.

The error message "Failed to set the Microsoft Entra admin. Details: Failed to set the Microsoft Entra admin for managed instance: dev-sql. The operation with Id: 'dev-sql' does not exist." indicates that there was an issue with setting the Microsoft Entra admin for the specified managed instance.

We have attempted to add a single user as well as a security group. The security group previously worked for a SQL Database but we had to switch to a SQL Managed Instance due to missing features.

This does not appear to be a permission issue, as the same action has been attempted by our account owner with full permission.

Ben Sykes 20 Reputation points

2025-05-27T16:38:18.68+00:00

I note this: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2225725/i-failing-to-set-the-microsoft-entra-admin-for-my

But we have never been able to sign into the server at all, so no users should be set yet.

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Ben Sykes 20 Reputation points

2025-05-27T16:38:18.68+00:00

I note this: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2225725/i-failing-to-set-the-microsoft-entra-admin-for-my

But we have never been able to sign into the server at all, so no users should be set yet.

Answer 1

Mahesh Kurva 5,025 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Ben Sykes,

Greetings!

As I understand it, you're encountering a frustrating issue while trying to set the Microsoft Entra admin for your SQL Managed Instance.

1.Please confirm whether you have attempted to set the Microsoft Entra admin from the Microsoft Entra ID tab of the SQL Managed Instance. If not, kindly try connecting by following the steps in the document below.

Azure SQL Managed Instance.

2.If a user with the same name already exists, the setup might fail. Try changing the username and retry the operation

3.Ensure that the directory containing your Azure SQL resource is set as the current directory in the Azure portal. This can sometimes be overlooked and might cause issues with setting the admin.

User's image 4.If there were any previously set administrators that you might not need anymore, consider removing them and then trying to add the new admin again.

Reference links:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/logins-create-manage?view=azuresql

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azuredbsupport/tips--tricks-3-unable-to-set-aad-admin-for-azure-sql-managed-instance/3633802

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWYv9X5DaKI

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.

If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Ben Sykes 20 Reputation points

2025-05-28T19:11:09.08+00:00

I can confirm that we followed the steps you outlined above, and that we have never been able to connect to the instance at all in order to create additional accounts.

The instance was created via Terraform and does include an admin, I will attempt to remove that.
Ben Sykes 20 Reputation points

2025-05-28T19:30:25.4433333+00:00

It appears that you cannot remove the administrator account. I can confirm that the admin account that we entered is not the name of an entra account.
Mahesh Kurva 5,025 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-28T21:07:20.1933333+00:00

Hi Ben Sykes,

Instead of terraform use azure portal to set an admin.

Configure and manage Microsoft Entra authentication with Azure SQL.

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.
Ben Sykes 20 Reputation points

2025-05-28T21:35:12.68+00:00

I was not using Terraform to set the admin, only the Azure Portal.
Ben Sykes 20 Reputation points

2025-05-29T13:25:04.91+00:00

I was able to successfully complete the process after deleting and re-creating the SQL Managed Instance. To be 100% clear we were using terraform to create the instance so the setup SHOULD have been identical between the two.
Mahesh Kurva 5,025 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-29T19:21:33.7066667+00:00

Hi Ben Sykes,

I'm glad to hear your issue has been resolved. Please let us know if you have any further queries.
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Attempting to set Admin on SQL Managed Instance fails with error

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