Fix “Connect-SPOService : The term ‘Connect-SPOService’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.” Error

Problem: When trying to connect to SharePoint Online through PowerShell cmdlet: Connect-SPOService -URL https://crescent-Admin.SharePoint.com, got an error message and could not connect to SharePoint Online from PowerShell:
Connect-SPOService : The term ‘Connect-SPOService’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

Connect-SPOService: The term 'Connect-SPOService' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path

Root cause:

The error “connect-sposervice is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet” occurs when the SharePoint Online Management Shell module is not installed or loaded in the current PowerShell session. To resolve this error, follow these steps:

Solution:

This error message indicates that the particular cmdlet doesn’t exist in the loaded modules. In this case, this error is because the “Connect-SPOService” cmdlet is part of SharePoint Online Management Shell (or SharePoint Online PowerShell Module), and it is not loaded! So, to resolve this issue: You have to install either the SharePoint Online Management Shell (less recommended) or SharePoint Online PowerShell Module (Preferred) before using the cmdlet Connect-SPOService.

Option 1: Download and Install SharePoint Online Management Shell

You can download and install SharePoint Online Management Shell to your client machine from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35588

install sharepoint online management shell powershell

If it’s already installed, try uninstalling and then re-installing.

Option 2: Install SharePoint Online PowerShell Module

Double-check if the SharePoint Online PowerShell Module is installed by:

Get-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -ListAvailable | Select Name,Version 

You can install the SharePoint Online PowerShell Module with the following:

Install-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell 

For uninstallation, use:

Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -AllVersions -Force

This will install necessary assemblies (.dll files) to the path: C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell\<Build-Number>

Other Workarounds:

Although we don’t have to explicitly load the module in PowerShell with “Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.Powershell”, give it a try to expose any potential issues.

If you are trying to connect to SharePoint Online PowerShell through a proxy server, the Connect-SPOService cmdlet connections fail! You have to use the following:

#Get Credentials to connect
$cred = Get-Credential
[System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy.Credentials = $cred

Connect-SPOService -Url "https://<Tenant-admin>.sharepoint.com" -Credential $cred

In another situation, I had to delete all SharePoint Online client Assemblies from the GAC and then install the SharePoint Online PowerShell Module:

  1. Navigate to “C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_MSIL”
  2. Select all folders starting with the name “Microsoft.SharePoint.Client” and delete them all!
  3. Finally, Install the PowerShell Module for SharePoint Online: Install-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -force
Make sure you have closed all PowerShell/PowerShell ISE instances before performing the above steps, and restart the PowerShell console or PowerShell ISE after the installation.

Wrapping up

In conclusion, the error “Connect-SPOService is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet” in SharePoint Online PowerShell can be resolved by installing the SharePoint Online Management Shell and loading the module in the current PowerShell session. By following the steps outlined in the above answer, the error can be resolved, and the Connect-SPOService cmdlet can be used to connect to SharePoint Online.

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - SharePoint Expert with Two decades of SharePoint Experience. Love to Share my knowledge and experience with the SharePoint community, through real-time articles!

10 thoughts on “Fix “Connect-SPOService : The term ‘Connect-SPOService’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.” Error

  • Hello, try do Connect-PnPOnline comands.

    Reply
  • Same here, nothing I’ve been at this 48 hours and it doesn’t matter what I’ve try all I ever get is ‘Connect-SPOService’ is not recognized OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

    Reply
  • Every time I connect-SPOService I get this error. I fix it following these steps. Than next time I open powershell, I get the error again and have to follow these steps again.

    Reply
  • Tried all, to no avail.
    Could this have to do with Powershell 7 and up? and the location where it is installed

    Reply
  • I have tried all the steps mentioned, the issue still exists in windows 10 machine

    Reply
  • I am also facing the same issue. None of SharePoint Online commands seem to be working.Import-Module : Could not load type ‘Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing.PortalLaunch.PortalLaunchRedirectionType’ from
    assembly ‘Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c’.
    Connect-SPOService : The term ‘Connect-SPOService’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or
    operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.Connect-SPOService : The term ‘Connect-SPOService’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or
    operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

    Reply
  • is there any fix for this issue.? I am having this problem as well.

    import-module : Could not load type ‘Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing.PortalLaunch.PortalLaunchRedirectionType’ from assembly ‘Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
    PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c’.
    At line:1 char:1
    import-module microsoft.online.sharepoint.powershell
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Import-Module], TypeLoadException
    FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.TypeLoadException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.ImportModuleCommand

    #Read more: https://www.sharepointdiary.com/2019/02/the-term-connect-sposervice-is-not-recognized-as-the-name-of-a-cmdlet-function-script-file-or-operable-program.html#ixzz6jrU5uBTe

    i have uninstalled and reinstalled SharePoint powershell module and still cannot use connect-sposervice cmdlet

    Reply
  • I am having this problem as well. In my case, I have two versions installed. Is this causing a conflict? I’ve tried to remove all versions, but the 16.0.20414.0 can’t be removed and might have been installed by other means other than Install-Module.

    Name Version
    —- ——-
    Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell 16.0.20414.12000
    Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell 16.0.20414.0

    Reply
  • Same here
    import-module : Could not load type ‘Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing.PortalLaunch.PortalLaunchRedirectionType’ from assembly ‘Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
    PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c’.
    At line:1 char:1
    + import-module microsoft.online.sharepoint.powershell
    + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Import-Module], TypeLoadException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.TypeLoadException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.ImportModuleCommand

    Reply
  • I have tried all the above steps that the problem still exists.

    Reply

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