Unable to start cloud shell session

Question

Unable to start cloud shell session

Sean Doherty 50

I am unable to start a cloud shell session and encounter the following error:

Requesting a Cloud Shell.Sorry, your Cloud Shell failed to provision: {"code":"ServiceUnavailable","message":"Cloud Shell is not available at this moment, please retry later."} 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: AUSTRALIAEAST:xxxx

Anyone else having Cloud Shell issues in Southeast Asia today?

Himanshu Shekhar 6,700 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-25T04:14:09.35+00:00

Hey Sean, it looks like you’re hitting the “ServiceUnavailable” error when provisioning Cloud Shell in Southeast Asia. That error usually means the Cloud Shell back end in that region can’t be reached right now (either a transient service hiccup or something blocking your traffic). Here’s what you can try:

Check Azure service health • Go to https://status.azure.com and filter for Southeast Asia – verify there’s no active incident for Cloud Shell or Service Bus in that region. • If there is an outage, you’ll need to wait for Microsoft to restore the service.

Refresh/retry and clear local state • Refresh the Azure portal page a couple of times. • Clear your browser cache or open an incognito/private window. • Try a different browser or network (e.g., mobile hotspot) to rule out local caching/proxy issues.

Validate network/firewall/proxy settings • If you’re behind a corporate proxy or firewall, ensure you allow outbound access to: – *.console.azure.com – *.servicebus.windows.net (and for GovCloud, *.servicebus.usgovcloudapi.net) • Use browser DevTools (F12 → Network → filter “terminals?”) to find the servicebus hostname (e.g. ccon-prod-southeastasia-aci-XX.servicebus.windows.net), then run nslookup on that name from your client to confirm it resolves and routes correctly.

Retry provisioning • Sometimes a previous Cloud Shell deployment is in a “de-provisioning” state. Simply retrying 5–10 minutes later often clears it up. • If you’re using persistent storage, try remounting it or switch to an ephemeral session (no storage) just to see if storage provisioning is the culprit.

Gather diagnostics • Open DevTools and capture a browser trace (or Fiddler) while you hit Requesting Cloud Shell – look for HTTP 503s or CORS errors. • Note the exact servicebus hostname and any error codes besides 503.

If you still see the error after all of the above, please open a new support request and include: – The full error message + correlation ID (e.g. “AUSTRALIAEAST:xxxx”)

Reference docs

• Troubleshooting “Failed to request a terminal” error: https://supportability.visualstudio.com/AzureIaaSVM/_wiki/wikis/AzureIaaSVM/1379852

• Failed to provision a Cloud Shell session: https://supportability.visualstudio.com/AzureIaaSVM/_wiki/wikis/AzureIaaSVM/495495

• Cloud Shell troubleshooting FAQ (network trace steps): https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cloud-shell/faq-troubleshooting

• Supported scenarios & network requirements for Cloud Shell: https://supportability.visualstudio.com/AzureIaaSVM/_wiki/wikis/AzureIaaSVM/495498
Sean Doherty 50 Reputation points

2026-05-25T04:17:13.2766667+00:00

I have been through all of the above. I will raise a support ticket.

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Sean Doherty 50 Reputation points

2026-05-25T04:17:13.2766667+00:00

I have been through all of the above. I will raise a support ticket.

Answer 1

Sean Doherty hi & thanks for join me here at Q&A portal,

regional Cloud Shell provisioning issue, not ur subscription or storage config. The correlation ID starts with AUSTRALIAEAST, so Cloud Shell is trying to provision the backing session there and the service is returning ServiceUnavailable. Retry later, check Azure Service Health, and use local Azure CLI as workaround. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-shell/faq-troubleshooting

Run the same commands locally with Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell for now. Cloud Shell is just a hosted shell; if provisioning is down in the region, u cant force-start it from the portal. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli

If it keeps failing, open a support request and include the correlation ID, region AUSTRALIAEAST, UTC timestamp, browser, subscription ID, and whether both Bash and PowerShell fail. Azure Service Health is the right place to confirm if Microsoft has an active incident for Cloud Shell in that region https://azure.microsoft.com/en-au/get-started/azure-portal/service-health

This is not really “Southeast Asia” from the error text; the request is landing in Australia East, so track Australia East Cloud Shell health first.

rgds,

Alex

&

If my answer was helpful pls mark it and additional thx if u follow me at Q&A portal

Sean Doherty 50 Reputation points

2026-05-25T22:50:56.1466667+00:00

The Azure Status page doesn't have status for Australia East cloud shell. Anyway, it's back up and running today. Thanks for your suggestions.

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Unable to start cloud shell session

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