ShareGate Migrate is a client-side application that connects to your Microsoft 365 environment with your Microsoft 365 credentials. As such, some factors could influence your capability to connect to Microsoft 365.
Basic
Update ShareGate Migrate
ShareGate Migrate is frequently updated to comply with Microsoft's newest standards. These new standards can affect your connection.
You can use the auto-update feature or update ShareGate Migrate manually by running the installer.
Verify Permissions
Ensure that your user account has sufficient permissions. For example, Site Collection Administrator permissions are required for most SharePoint migrations.
To determine the necessary permissions, refer to the Administrative permissions help center section.
Connect in your browser
Connect directly to your site or admin center in your browser, on the same workstation where ShareGate Migrate is installed.
If you can connect: Make sure you are using the same URL and credentials in ShareGate Migrate.
If you can't connect: Contact your SharePoint or network administrator.
Try all the authentication modes in ShareGate Migrate
Depending on your configuration, the default authentication method may not work for your tenant. Try all the authentication methods (Current Windows User, Other user, Browser) to see if any of them work for you.
Connect with SharePoint Designer
SharePoint Designer and ShareGate Migrate are similar in their approach to connecting to SharePoint, as they are both client-side applications. You can get SharePoint Designer for free from Microsoft.
If you can connect with SharePoint Designer: Make sure you're using the same URL and credentials in ShareGate Migrate.
If you cannot connect with SharePoint Designer: Contact your SharePoint or network administrator or Microsoft support.
Using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)?
The Browser authentication method is the only authentication method that supports MFA configurations.
If SharePoint's authentication token expires, ShareGate Migrate cannot automatically re-authenticate because credentials are not stored when using MFA and the Browser authentication method.
To obtain a new token: In Explorer, Disconnect from your environment, then click +Add connection to reconnect.
To modify the token: Contact your IT team or Microsoft 365 admin to request that the authentication token never expires.
Note: ShareGate Migrate supports most MFA configurations; however, if you encounter issues with authentication, please contact support to verify whether your configuration is supported.
Access changes
Investigate recent changes to site policies, such as a newly implemented Read-Only Lock, which might restrict connections.
Advanced
You might need assistance from a SharePoint or network administrator to validate these points.
Ensure your SharePoint Tenant has a root site collection
The absence of a root site collection in your environment will cause authentication errors, as ShareGate Migrate needs information from the root site collection to authenticate your account.
Verify that there is no proxy, firewall, or antivirus blocking your connection
Your network can reject the connection request from ShareGate Migrate.
If you're using an antivirus: Try disabling it.
If you're using a proxy: Check if you need to enter proxy information on your network.
If you're using a proxy or firewall: Make sure you allow ShareGate Migrate to access the proper ports and URLs on your network.
Microsoft Cloud App Security (MCAS) can block ShareGate Migrate connections
When you have MCAS on your tenant, a redirection occurs that Migrate cannot circumvent. The only workaround is to add an exclusion for the ShareGate useragent in the Policy's conditional access.
If your connection still doesn't work
Our support team will be happy to help you solve the issue. To get a faster resolution, please provide the following information:
Are you using the latest version of ShareGate Migrate?
What was the error message you received?
What have you tried from this article? More details are often better than not enough.
Are you or have you spoken to a network administrator?