Azure SQL error 18456: login failed means bad credentials or disabled login

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

To check a disabled login, run SELECT name, isdisabled FROM sys.sqllogins in master; enable it with ALTER LOGIN [name] ENABLE. 'Login failed for user' (Error 18456) means the username or password is wrong, or the login is disabled: ask the service administrator for valid credentials.

The error

login failed means bad credentials or disabled login

Fix

1. To check a disabled login, run SELECT name, isdisabled FROM sys.sqllogins in master; enable it with ALTER LOGIN [name] ENABLE. Expected: You see the expected output instead of the problem.

2. Re-run the original operation and confirm the error is gone. Expected: no error, normal output.

When to use

• You hit this exact error with Azure SQL error 18456.
• The symptom matches: login failed means bad credentials or disabled login.

When NOT to use

• A different error message from Azure SQL error 18456; the cause here is specific to this error.
• Unrelated Azure SQL error 18456 issues (different feature, different failure).
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported against Azure SQL error 18456. Source: https://github.com/microsoftdocs/sql-docs/blob/HEAD/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-common-errors-issues.md.

Variant phrasings

login failed means bad credentials or disabled login

Why it happens

18456 is never a network error. Check the login itself.

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

Source

https://github.com/microsoftdocs/sql-docs/blob/HEAD/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-common-errors-issues.md

Source: 18456 is never a network error. Check the login itself.

Verified resolution: [Microsoft SQL docs]: 'Login failed for user' (Error 18456) means the username or password is wrong, or the login is disabled: ask the service administrator for valid credentials. To check a disabled login, run SELECT name, isdisabled FROM sys.sqllogins in master; enable it with ALTER LOGIN [name] ENABLE. If the login does not exist, create it with CREATE LOGIN in master, then create the user in the target database and grant permissions. Save the tracing ID from the error message for support.

Source URL: https://github.com/microsoftdocs/sql-docs/blob/HEAD/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-common-errors-issues.md