Azure Backup error VM is not in a state that allows backups.

If you get an error in you Azure backup saying “VM is not in a state that allows backups.”

then you can follow below steps to find a solution for this.

in the error window, Recommended action will say,

Please check if VM is in Running or Shut-down state. If VM is in a transient state, wait until it reaches Running or Shut-down state and retry the operation.

But when you checked, you can see that your VM is working fine an Internet is also there.

No blocking from the Network endpoint as well.

Then how we can start with the troubleshooting. Here I’m listed down the steps which worked for me and hope one or few steps will help you to fix your backup issue if follow these steps.

* First check whether is any blocking in the Network endpoints.

* Then check the VM extensions. VM extension details are mentioned below,

Rerun VM extensions

There may be cases in which a virtual machine extension needs to be rerun. You can do this by removing the extension and then rerunning the extension with an execution method of your choice. To remove an extension, run the following command with the Azure PowerShell module. Replace example parameter names with your own values.

An extension can also be removed using the Azure portal. To do so:

1. Select a virtual machine.
2. Select Extensions.
3. Choose the desired extension.
4. Select Uninstall.

* Then logged into the VM and checked the Azure Windows agent status. If this is not running, start that. If not restart this service and restart the VSS service as well.

Restart the server after this and tried to run the Azure backup. this will cure most of the issue.

* Next thing is to validate the VM agent version. To check this you can follow the below steps.

1. Log on to the Azure virtual machine and navigate to the folder C:\WindowsAzure\Packages. You should find the WaAppAgent.exe file present.
2. Right-click the file, go to Properties, and then select the Details tab. The Product Version field should be 2.6.1198.718 or higher

If this is not correct then update the  VM Agent binaries. However, you need to ensure that no backup operation is running while the VM Agent is being updated.

Once this is completed, restart the VM and then the backup job and run the backup.

This helps me to fix more than 6 client environment Azure backup issues.