Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Hi,

I am reaching out regarding a Power Automate for Desktop / machine runtime issue that I have not been able to resolve.

I am trying to create a connection from Power Automate cloud to run a desktop flow on my Windows machine. The machine is already registered and appears available in the environment, but the connection fails during authentication when I select “Connect with sign in – Attended.”

The exact error returned is:

Failed to create OAuth connection: ClientError: Test connection failed. Details: Connection failed: [Machine c2950854-4541-4294-b7b2-5f96d1fa2dd5] The machine is neither Microsoft Entra nor domain joined.

From what I understand, the issue is that the machine is registered in Power Automate machine runtime, but it is not joined to Microsoft Entra ID or to an Active Directory domain, which seems to prevent this connection type from working.

One point that caused confusion is that in the Troubleshoot section of Power Automate machine runtime, the service account shows as:

NT SERVICE\UIFlowService

At first I thought this might be the username required for the connection, but it now appears this is only the internal runtime service account, not the actual Windows user account that should be used for desktop flow authentication.

My Power Automate / Microsoft 365 account is:

[email address removed by moderator]

However, the Windows session on the machine may be using a different local or personal account, so there may also be an identity mismatch between:

the Power Automate cloud account

the machine runtime registration

and the Windows login account on the PC

Could you please review and confirm the following:

Whether this machine is Microsoft Entra joined, domain joined, or neither

Whether “Connect with sign in – Attended” is supported in this machine’s current state

Which exact Windows credentials should be used for the desktop flow connection

Whether there is an identity mismatch between the cloud account and the Windows session

Whether the runtime / machine registration / installation setup is fully correct

At the moment, the machine appears registered, but I cannot complete the desktop flow connection required to trigger the flow from Power Automate cloud.

Thank you in advance for your help

Categories:

Power Automate Desktop

Hi @AA-25031541-0,

Your connection failure is happening because the Windows machine is not Microsoft Entra joined nor domain joined, which is required for “Connect with sign in – Attended” authentication. Power Automate Desktop (PAD) can only establish attended connections when the Windows user account matches a Microsoft Entra ID or domain account associated with your Power Automate cloud environment. Your machine is currently registered, but due to the identity mismatch and machine state, the attended OAuth connection cannot be created.

1. Whether this machine is Microsoft Entra joined, domain joined, or neither
If you're seeing the error: “The machine is neither Microsoft Entra nor domain joined”
It confirms the machine is NOT Entra joined and NOT domain joined.

2. Whether “Connect with sign in – Attended” is supported in this machine’s current state
Not supported in the machine’s current state.
Attended sign‑in requires:
Entra‑joined device or
Domain‑joined device + hybrid identity

3. Which exact Windows credentials should be used for the desktop flow connection
You must use the actual Windows login account on the PC (the account used to sign into the desktop session).
NT SERVICE\UIFlowService is internal and must not be used.

4. Whether there is an identity mismatch between the cloud account and the Windows session
Yes, likely.
Your cloud identity (M365 account) does not match the local Windows user identity.
Both must align via:
Entra sign‑in on the PC, or
Domain/hybrid join

5. Whether the runtime / machine registration / installation setup is fully correct
The runtime is installed and the machine is registered, but the authentication mode is blocked because the machine isn’t using an Entra/domain identity.

What to do next
Option A - Recommended
Join the PC to Microsoft Entra ID:

Windows Settings → Accounts → Access work or school
Connect → Sign in with your M365 account
Reboot
Re‑create the desktop flow connection

Option B
Use a domain‑joined machine.

Option C
Use “Connect with username & password – Unattended”
(Requires unattended license + installing the Unattended Runtime + allowing local credentials)

✅ If this answer helped resolve your issue, please mark it as Accepted so it can help others with the same problem.
👍 Feel free to Like the post if you found it useful.