“Service Application Not Responding” – Detailed Troubleshooting Guide

The “Service Application Not Responding” error in SharePoint occurs when a service application (e.g., User Profile Service, Search Service, or Managed Metadata Service) becomes unavailable. This can lead to:

• Inaccessible or malfunctioning service applications
• Errors in SharePoint functionality (e.g., Search not working, User Profiles not syncing)
• Performance degradation

This step-by-step guide will help you diagnose and resolve this issue in detail.

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🔍 Step 1: Identify the Affected Service Application

First, determine which service application is not responding.

✅ Check in SharePoint Central Administration

1. Open SharePoint Central Administration.
2. Navigate to Manage Service Applications:
   • Click Application Management → Manage Service Applications.
3. Look for any service marked as “Stopped” or “Not Responding”.
4. Try clicking on the service application name.
   • If it does not open or gives an error, take note of the error message.

✅ Use PowerShell to Check Running Service Applications

Run the following command to list all service applications and their statuses:

Get-SPServiceApplication | Select DisplayName, Id, Status

• If any service shows “Stopped”, continue troubleshooting.

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🔍 Step 2: Restart the Service Application

If the service is stopped or unresponsive, restart it.

✅ Restart Using Central Administration

1. Open SharePoint Central Administration.
2. Navigate to Manage Services on Server:
   • Click System Settings → Manage Services on Server.
3. Locate the affected service application (e.g., User Profile Service).
4. If the service is stopped, click Start.

✅ Restart Using PowerShell

$serviceApp = Get-SPServiceInstance | Where-Object { $_.TypeName -like "*Service Name*" }
Start-SPServiceInstance -Identity $serviceApp.Id

Replace "Service Name" with the exact service (e.g., "User Profile Service").

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🔍 Step 3: Check Service Application Pool in IIS

A stopped or misconfigured application pool can cause this error.

✅ Steps to Verify Application Pool in IIS

1. Open IIS Manager (inetmgr).
2. Click Application Pools (on the left panel).
3. Look for the application pool associated with the failing service application.
4. If the status is “Stopped”, restart it:
   • Right-click → Start.
5. If the application pool is stopping frequently, check the identity account:
   • Right-click the application pool → Advanced Settings.
   • Under Process Model, check the Identity:
     • If it’s using a custom account, ensure the credentials are correct.
6. Restart IIS to apply changes: iisreset /noforce

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🔍 Step 4: Verify Service Account Permissions

A misconfigured service account can cause service failures.

✅ Check Service Account in Central Administration

1. Open Central Administration → Security.
2. Click Configure Service Accounts.
3. Find the failing service application in the dropdown.
4. Ensure the correct Managed Account is assigned.

✅ Ensure Proper Permissions in SQL Server

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Navigate to Security → Logins.
3. Find the SharePoint Service Account (e.g., SP_Services).
4. Ensure it has the following database roles:
   • db_owner on the related Service Database.
   • securityadmin and dbcreator on the SQL Server instance.

If permissions are incorrect, grant them and restart the service.

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🔍 Step 5: Check SharePoint Timer Job Issues

Timer jobs manage background tasks in SharePoint. If they fail, service applications may stop responding.

✅ Restart SharePoint Timer Service

1. Open Services.msc (Win + R → type services.msc).
2. Find SharePoint Timer Service (SPTimerV4).
3. Right-click → Restart.

✅ Restart Using PowerShell

Restart-Service SPTimerV4

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🔍 Step 6: Check ULS Logs for Errors

The Unified Logging System (ULS) Logs store detailed SharePoint error messages.

✅ Steps to Check ULS Logs

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Navigate to: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\LOGS\ (For SharePoint 2013, replace 16 with 15.)
3. Open the latest log file and search for “Service Application Not Responding” or related errors.
4. Identify specific error messages and resolve accordingly.

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🔍 Step 7: Check Event Viewer for Errors

Windows Event Viewer can also provide more details.

✅ Steps to Check Event Viewer Logs

1. Open Run (Win + R) → Type eventvwr.msc → Press Enter.
2. Navigate to Windows Logs → Application.
3. Look for SharePoint or SQL Server-related errors.
4. Take note of error codes and investigate further.

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🔍 Step 8: Verify and Restart SQL Server (If Necessary)

If the service application relies on SQL Server (e.g., Search, User Profile), ensure SQL Server is running.

✅ Restart SQL Server Service

1. Open Services.msc.
2. Find SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER).
3. Right-click → Restart.

✅ Check Database Connectivity Using PowerShell

Get-SPDatabase | Select DisplayName, Status

If databases are in “Offline” or “Failed” states, troubleshoot SQL Server further.

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🔍 Step 9: Recreate the Service Application (If Necessary)

If the service remains unresponsive, recreate it.

✅ Steps to Delete and Recreate Service Application

1. Backup existing data (if applicable).
2. Open Central Administration → Manage Service Applications.
3. Select the failing Service Application → Click Delete.
4. Recreate the service application:
   • Go to New → Select the relevant service (e.g., User Profile Service).
   • Assign the correct application pool and database settings.
   • Configure service settings as needed.

✅ Restart All Services After Recreating

iisreset /noforce
Restart-Service SPTimerV4
Restart-Service SPAdminV4

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🔍 Step 10: Restore from Backup (If Necessary)

If none of the above solutions work, restore from a recent backup.

✅ Restore a Service Application Database

Restore-SPFarm -Directory "C:\Backup" -Item "Service Application Database" -RestoreMethod Overwrite

Then, test the service application again.

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