[German]A German blog reader has pointed out that the PST import into a Microsoft 365 tenant has not worked since at least November 1, 2024 using a SAS URL. The import tool is reporting Error 500 for his German Microsoft 365 tenant. According to Microsoft, however, the error probably occurs worldwide. I have summarized the known details below.
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PST import: What exactly is the problem?
Normally, an administrator can give a user on their Microsoft 365 tenant the authorization to import/export mail.
The option can be found in the Import role group (see screenshot above) and in the Mail Import Export subcategory (see screenshot below).
Outlook PST files can then be uploaded to the tenant's user account via the Purview/Compliance portal using a SAS URL and the Azure tool. The following screenshot shows the option to create an import request.
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The Shared Access Signature (SAS) enables secure delegated access to the resources of the storage account in the tenant. So far so familiar, and Microsoft has described the whole thing in the support article Step 1: Copy the SAS URL and download AzCopy.
The import jobs fail on the SAS URL
German blog reader Maximilian H. informed me by e-mail that this import process is failing in his environment. As soon as he tries to initiate the import via the New import request link above, he runs into an error message when processing the SAS URL as soon as he clicks on "Show SAS URL …." in a new import request. It looks like the server does not accept this SAS URL for access.
The import job is aborted with a client error "The remote server returned an error: (500) Internal Server Error". The error message is of course anything but meaningful. If the error is acknowledged with the OK button, the message "SAS key is loading" remains with a "spinning progress bar".
Reports on the Internet
The reader wrote that he had come across posts in various forums on the Internet that have been discussing this error from time to time since at least 2019. In addition to an entry in the Feedback Hub (which is currently down), I am also aware of the Microsoft Answers forum thread PST Import issue. SAS URL is not providing. Server error 500.
The exact criteria outlined above are listed there. The person concerned has the roles Mailbox Import Export (Exchange Online), eDiscovery Administrator (Purview) and Global Administrator in the tenant. Nevertheless, the import of the PST file fails with the server error 500. In the MS Answers forum thread above, there is no solution – the person concerned only reported in a follow-up that suddenly another three tenants were affected.
The blog reader, who contacted me by e-mail, notes that the reports he found on the Internet probably end with the tenant's Server Error 500 resolving itself after a few days and everything working again. In the case of the reader, this has not been the case so far.
Not only German tenants affected
The reader writes that he can only reproduce the error with German tenants. The error does not occur with tenants in the EU region. Other tenants from other regions are not available to the blog reader.
The reader also attached a statement from Microsoft Support admitting the error: After a thorough investigation, we have determined that the issue affecting your service is worldwide and most tenants in Germany are affected by similar issues. Rest assured that our development team is aware of the situation and is actively working to resolve the issue. Perhaps this will be of interest to other affected readers.
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