“SharePoint Feature Activation Failed” – Detailed Troubleshooting Guide

The “SharePoint feature activation failed” error occurs when you try to activate a SharePoint feature (such as Publishing Infrastructure, Workflow, or Custom Features) but it fails due to missing dependencies, permission issues, or configuration errors.

This issue can cause:

• Feature-related functionality to break
• Custom solutions or site features to remain inactive
• Errors in SharePoint Central Administration or PowerShell

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

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🔍 Step 1: Identify the Failing Feature

Before troubleshooting, determine which feature is failing and collect details about the error.

✅ Check Error Messages in SharePoint UI

1. Navigate to Site Settings → Manage Site Features.
2. Try to activate the feature.
3. If it fails, note the error message.

✅ Check ULS Logs for Detailed Errors

1. Open SharePoint ULS Logs using:
   • ULS Viewer (if installed).
   • Manually from C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\LOGS\ (for SharePoint 2016+).
2. Look for Feature Activation errors.

✅ Check Event Viewer for Errors

1. Open Run (Win + R) → Type eventvwr.msc → Press Enter.
2. Go to Windows Logs → Application.
3. Look for SharePoint-related errors.

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🔍 Step 2: Activate the Feature via PowerShell

If activation fails via the UI, try activating it using PowerShell.

✅ Activate a Site Collection Feature

Enable-SPFeature -Identity "FeatureName" -Url "http://YourSiteCollection"

✅ Activate a Web Feature

Enable-SPFeature -Identity "FeatureName" -Url "http://YourWeb"

✅ Activate a Farm Feature

Enable-SPFeature -Identity "FeatureName" -Url "http://YourWebApp" -Confirm:$false

If this command fails, note the error message and continue troubleshooting.

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🔍 Step 3: Verify Feature Dependencies

Some features require other features to be activated first.

✅ Check Dependencies in SharePoint Central Administration

1. Go to Central Administration → Manage Web Applications.
2. Select the affected Web Application.
3. Click Manage Features.
4. Try activating any prerequisite features before the failing feature.

✅ Check Dependencies Using PowerShell

Run this command to check feature dependencies:

Get-SPFeature | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "*FeatureName*" }

If dependencies are missing, activate them first.

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🔍 Step 4: Ensure Correct Permissions

A common cause of feature activation failure is insufficient permissions.

✅ Check SharePoint Farm Account Permissions

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Connect to the SharePoint Configuration Database.
3. Ensure the SharePoint Farm Account has:
   • db_owner permissions on the Content Database.
   • SecurityAdmin and DBCreator roles on the SQL Server instance.

✅ Verify Site Collection Administrator Permissions

1. Navigate to Central Administration → Application Management.
2. Click Manage Site Collections → Select the affected Site Collection.
3. Ensure your account is listed as a Site Collection Administrator.

If permissions are missing, add them and try activating the feature again.

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🔍 Step 5: Check for Corrupted Feature Files

If a feature is partially installed or corrupted, activation will fail.

✅ Locate Feature Files in SharePoint Server

1. Open Windows Explorer on the SharePoint server.
2. Navigate to: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\TEMPLATE\FEATURES\ (For SharePoint 2013, replace 16 with 15.)
3. Look for a folder with the feature name.

✅ Verify Feature XML Files

1. Open the feature folder and check for feature.xml.
2. Ensure all necessary files are present and correctly formatted.

✅ Retract and Reinstall the Feature

If files are missing or corrupt, reinstall the feature:

1. Uninstall the feature using PowerShell: Disable-SPFeature -Identity "FeatureName" -Url "http://YourSiteCollection" -Confirm:$false
2. Reinstall the feature: Install-SPFeature -Path "FeatureFolderName"
3. Activate the feature again: Enable-SPFeature -Identity "FeatureName" -Url "http://YourSiteCollection"

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🔍 Step 6: Check SharePoint Solutions (WSP) Deployment

If the feature is part of a custom solution, check for issues with the WSP package.

✅ Verify Solution Deployment in PowerShell

Run the following command to list all solutions:

Get-SPSolution

If the solution is not deployed, redeploy it using:

Install-SPSolution -Identity SolutionName.wsp -GACDeployment

Then, try activating the feature again.

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🔍 Step 7: Remove Orphaned Features

Sometimes, SharePoint keeps orphaned feature references that cause activation failures.

✅ Use PowerShell to List Features

Get-SPFeature | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -eq "FeatureName" }

If orphaned features exist, remove them manually:

Uninstall-SPFeature -Identity "FeatureName" -Confirm:$false

Then, reinstall the feature using Step 5.

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🔍 Step 8: Restart SharePoint Services and IIS

After fixing potential issues, restart services to apply changes.

✅ Restart IIS

iisreset /noforce

✅ Restart SharePoint Timer Service

Restart-Service SPTimerV4

✅ Restart SharePoint Administration Service

Restart-Service SPAdminV4

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🔍 Step 9: Restore from Backup (If Necessary)

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

✅ Restore a Site Collection

Restore-SPSite -Identity "http://YourSiteCollection" -Path "C:\Backup\YourBackup.bak"

If this is a custom feature, redeploy the solution or reinstall SharePoint if necessary.

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