What's up with the Identity validations?

Question

What's up with the Identity validations?

Michel M 10

The process is under all criticism, no help, their routines doesn't work. I have done the process three times now and still haven't got approved. Both the authentication process doesn't work (done it four times, worked once) and the uploading of documents for approval of my company (haven't worked once yet).

I quess, that is how you act when you have monopoly in a market.

Has anyone had the same issues? How have you handle it and solve it?

Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-13T15:41:57.45+00:00

Yep, and a stupid AI asking stupid follow up questions! Nice... I give up, my software will not have authentication and I don't care....
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2 answers

Your answer

Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-13T15:41:57.45+00:00

Yep, and a stupid AI asking stupid follow up questions! Nice... I give up, my software will not have authentication and I don't care....
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

Answer 1

Baraniwala Chamali Lalanthi Liyanage 450

Hi Michel and Jorge,

I completely understand how incredibly frustrating this loop is, especially when you have tried over 10 times and the automated system keeps failing you.

To address Jorge's concern: I can assure you this is absolutely not a tactic to push developers into the Microsoft Store. What you are experiencing is the result of an industry-wide security crackdown on Code Signing (Artifact Signing) certificates to prevent malware distribution. Microsoft (and their vetting partners) have made the automated verification process extremely strict.

When the automated Authenticator flow and document uploads fail repeatedly, it is almost always because a tiny detail on your uploaded documents (like a comma, an abbreviation like "Inc." vs "Incorporated", or address formatting) doesn't perfectly match the official business registry database or your Entra ID tenant details. The AI vetting system cannot make logical assumptions, so it just rejects it.

Since the automated system is completely stuck, you need to bypass it and request a Manual Vetting Review. Here is how to handle it:

Go to your Microsoft Partner Center dashboard.

Click the Help ( ? ) icon in the top right corner to open the Help + support pane.

Create a new support request specifically under Account Verification > Identity Verification.

In the description, explicitly state: "Automated identity validation and document upload has failed 10+ times due to a system loop. I am requesting a manual review of my company documents for Artifact Signing verification."

A human support agent from the vetting team will take over the ticket. They will usually provide a secure link to upload your business documents directly to them, or they will manually override the rejection once they verify your company details.

Hang in there—it is a painful onboarding process right now, but once the manual verification goes through, you will be able to sign your own software independently!

Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:29:28.53+00:00

That's interesting, specially when you get this answer.

BUT I tried what you suggested, cause I really want to solve this issue.

Here is the answer from what you are proposing:

We couldn't pinpoint a specific issue from the diagnostics we ran. Here are some general solutions that might help:

I am probably not compatible with Microsoft (can tell you more horrible stories about my 365 subscription). Should I give up, is this worth it? Can you solve it? Many questions, no anwers...
Baraniwala Chamali Lalanthi Liyanage 450 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:33:06.06+00:00

Hi Michel,

Please do not give up just yet! I completely understand why you are hitting your breaking point with this, but getting that Artifact/Code Signing certificate is absolutely worth it if you want your software to install on Windows PCs without triggering massive "Unknown Publisher" SmartScreen warnings.

The response you received ("We couldn't pinpoint a specific issue from the diagnostics we ran...") means you hit the Level 0 automated Virtual Agent. Microsoft heavily hides the actual human support team behind this bot.

Here is the exact trick to bypass that bot and force it to open a real ticket:

Click the Help (?) icon again.

Type your issue in the box and press Enter.

Let the bot run its diagnostics and give you those generic solutions.

Scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the bot's response pane.

You will see a button/link that says "Contact Support" (often accompanied by a headset icon). Click that.

Now it will finally give you the form to route your ticket to a real human on the vetting team.

Regarding your screenshot showing "Verification successful!": That specific green screen usually just means your initial login/authentication was successful, not that your company's identity documents were finally approved. To see your true overall vetting status, go to the Partner Center dashboard, click the Gear icon (Settings) > Account settings > Legal info. If it still says "Action required", "Pending", or "Rejected" there, the vetting is still blocked and you definitely need to push through to that human support ticket.

Push past that annoying bot to the "Contact Support" button. You can do this!
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:34:58.82+00:00

Ohh yes, and when I clicked to get support from like you write "A human support agent", quess what response I got? A general text about some articles somewhere at your site. Congratulations for one more failed support issue.
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:36:21.71+00:00

I'm starting to feel like all support issues at Microsoft are runed by bots :-/
Baraniwala Chamali Lalanthi Liyanage 450 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:37:55.53+00:00

Hi Michel,

That "article wall" is the system's final, incredibly annoying attempt to deflect you before letting you open a real ticket. They throw suggested articles at you even after you explicitly click for support.

When it shows you those articles, do not click them. Look directly below that list for a button that says "Chat with a support agent" or "Provide issue details".

However, if the Partner Center portal is completely bugged and refuses to give you the actual ticket form, you can bypass the Partner Center's broken bot entirely by using the main Azure portal:

Go to portal.azure.com and log in with your developer account.

Click the Help + support icon (the question mark at the top) or search for it in the top search bar.

Click Create a support request.

For the Issue type, select Subscription management (this forces it through the system and does not require a paid technical support plan).

In the summary, put: "Partner Center Artifact Signing Validation is stuck in an automated loop. Need manual vetting review."

This completely bypasses the Partner Center bot and puts a real ticket directly into the Microsoft queue, where a human agent can manually pull your vetting file.
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:39:39.8033333+00:00

Can you at least tell me how to unsubscribe to azure? Can you at least help me with that, you have hide it very well, that you have done good at least.
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:40:35.5533333+00:00
When it shows you those articles, do not click them. Look directly below that list for a button that says "Chat with a support agent" or "Provide issue details".

nope, I look for that link (you hid them very well actually) but nope, there was not continue to talk with a suport agent. Please help me unsubscribe!!!
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:41:37.4+00:00
In the summary, put: "Partner Center Artifact Signing Validation is stuck in an automated loop. Need manual vetting review."

This completely bypasses the Partner Center bot and puts a real ticket directly into the Microsoft queue, where a human agent can manually pull your vetting file.

You are human right? You have a computer right? Uncheck the damn box then!
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:44:07.1433333+00:00

Btw, you are the second person I talk to in here that haven't help me yet. The only thing you do is to link me further into your systems (that doesn't work and don't act as you write). Great job to put work on your customers so you don't have to solve any of their problems.
Baraniwala Chamali Lalanthi Liyanage 450 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:45:36.2866667+00:00

Hi Michel,

First, I need to be completely clear: I do not work for Microsoft. I am an independent developer and a community volunteer trying to help you navigate a system that I know is incredibly frustrating. Because I am just a normal user like you, I do not have any access to Microsoft's internal backend, so I physically cannot go in and "uncheck the box" to manually approve your company's validation.

Since you have reached a total dead end with their automated loops and just want to cancel your Azure service, here is exactly how to unsubscribe:

Sign in to the Azure portal (portal.azure.com).

In the top search bar, type Subscriptions and select it from the services list.

Click on the name of the active subscription you want to cancel.

At the top of the subscription overview page, click Cancel subscription.

Follow the short on-screen prompts to confirm the cancellation.

I am genuinely sorry this onboarding process turned out to be such a nightmare for your company. Let me know if the portal gives you any trouble finding that cancel button.
Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T13:47:47.4+00:00

Ahh ok sorry to put all the weight on you then, this is not any of your responsibility. Sorry to write all that stuff.

Answer 2

Jorge Dardon 0

I don't know what's going on with Microsoft. It's as if they're deliberately trying to push people on to the Microsoft store. I am paying for the cert to have my own licensing! Why can't they respect that?

Michel M 10 Reputation points

2026-10-15T12:28:10.75+00:00

The world is bigger than Microsoft Store!

Still haven't got any sort of help, I think I've done over 10 applications now and their Identity validation still not working pass Microsoft Authenticator