Cannot generate images on copilot - Tried all recommended resolutions and at a loss

Question

Cannot generate images on copilot - Tried all recommended resolutions and at a loss

Kim Hartley 10

For approximately 4-5 days, I have been unable to generate images using Microsoft Copilot. Every image generation request fails, including simple and non-sensitive prompts such as "generate an image of an apple" and "generate an image of a photorealistic duckling".

The failure is consistent across all image generation attempts and returns the following error:

Image Generation request failed with StatusCode Forbidden and PollStatus Failed

The issue appears to be specific to my account, as other users within my organisation are able to generate images successfully.

Troubleshooting performed:

Tested multiple simple prompts that should not trigger content filtering.
Confirmed the issue occurs consistently regardless of prompt content.
Waited several days to rule out a temporary service issue.
Confirmed other users in the organisation can generate images without issue.

Please investigate:

Why image generation requests from my account are returning "StatusCode Forbidden".
Whether there are any account-specific restrictions, entitlement issues, licensing issues, or backend service flags affecting my account.
Whether an image generation quota or usage limit associated with my account may be stuck and not resetting correctly.
Any relevant diagnostic logs associated with failed image generation requests from my account.

The issue has been ongoing for 4-5 days and has prevented me from using Copilot image generation functionality during that time.For approximately 4-5 days, I have been unable to generate images using Microsoft Copilot. Every image generation request fails, including simple and non-sensitive prompts such as "generate an image of an apple" and "generate an image of a photorealistic duckling".

The failure is consistent across all image generation attempts and returns the following error:

Image Generation request failed with StatusCode Forbidden and PollStatus Failed

The issue appears to be specific to my account, as other users within my organisation are able to generate images successfully.

Troubleshooting performed:

Tested multiple simple prompts that should not trigger content filtering.
Confirmed the issue occurs consistently regardless of prompt content.
Waited several days to rule out a temporary service issue.
Confirmed other users in the organisation can generate images without issue.
Logged out, emptied cache, logged in on private browser page etc. The issue occurs on browser pages too

My organisational support think it's just the daily quota but copilot says it's not that (and its been days now). I can't directly log a support request with MS so no idea what else I can do to fix this problem.

Kim Hartley 10 Reputation points

2026-08-05T21:11:26.7233333+00:00

Apologies for the duplicate info, I copied it straight from a copilot generated response and for some reason it pasted everything twice

3 answers

Your answer

Kim Hartley 10 Reputation points

2026-08-05T21:11:26.7233333+00:00

Apologies for the duplicate info, I copied it straight from a copilot generated response and for some reason it pasted everything twice

Answer 1

Vince S 0

Hi Vikki, thanks for your comment. After a full week with an open ticket, I believe the issue to be fully resolved - all images are working for everyone consistently as of this morning. We had an amazingly good support person who really stepped in and forced engineers on the product group side to get this fixed. Issues will always happen, but the good companies are the ones that know how to handle them and truly fix a problem, and that was my experience in this case. Back to be being a MS fan LOL. Anyway, thanks again and if folks have issues then go through the process, open a ticket, and just stick with it and get the help and support you need :-).

Vikki-T 9,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-26T08:58:49.8466667+00:00

Hi Vince S,

Thank you so much for the update, and I'm truly very happy to hear back from you.

If you ever have any other questions or run into anything in the future, please feel free to post your question on the Microsoft Q&A Forum anytime. I’ll always be here and ready to assist you.

Wishing you a great experience ahead!

Answer 2

Kim Hartley 10

m365 copilot basic is what it says on the app. i don't have access to see if image generation is enabled, but it was working and other organisation users can generate images. I have contacted support and there are no policies in place to prevent t users generating images. I cannot open a request from the admin center as I don't have access to it.

Vikki-T 9,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-07T11:34:55.8+00:00
Hi Kim Hartley,

Thank you for clarifying. Since image generation previously worked for your account, other users in your organization are still able to use it and your internal support team has not found any policy blocking the feature, this may require an account-level or service-side review.

As you do not have access to the Microsoft 365 admin center, please ask your Microsoft 365 administrator or internal IT team to open a support request with Microsoft on your behalf. It would be helpful for them to include:

The exact error: “Image Generation request failed with StatusCode Forbidden and PollStatus Failed”

The Copilot app or URL where the error occurs

The approximate time of a recent failed attempt

Confirmation that the feature previously worked for your account

Confirmation that other users in the same organization are unaffected

Your assigned Copilot license and service plan details

This information should help Microsoft Support investigate whether there is an account entitlement or other service-side condition affecting image generation. Unfortunately, this cannot be confirmed or corrected from the community forum because I do not have access to account-level diagnostics or backend service information.

I understand this places an extra step on you, but at this point an administrator-initiated support request would be the most appropriate next step. Thank you so much for your cooperation.

Answer 3

Hi Kim Hartley,

I understand how frustrating this must be, especially after you have already tried different prompts, cleared the browser cache, used a private window and waited several days without any improvement.

Since the same error occurs with simple prompts and appears to affect only your account, this does not seem to be caused by the prompt itself. However, the “StatusCode Forbidden” message alone is not enough to confirm whether this is related to your license, an account-specific restriction, an organizational policy or another service-side condition.

Could you please confirm which Copilot experience you are using, such as Microsoft Copilot or the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and whether you are signed in with a work or school account?

As other users in your organization can generate images, I recommend asking your Microsoft 365 administrator to:

Verify that the appropriate Copilot license and service plans are assigned to your account.
Check whether Copilot image generation is enabled and whether any user- or group-based policy affects your account.
Review the Microsoft 365 service health dashboard.
Open a Microsoft support request from the Microsoft 365 admin center if the settings appear correct.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and community contributors cannot access account entitlements, backend restrictions, diagnostic logs or service flags. If a support request is opened, it would be helpful to include the exact error message, the approximate time of a failed attempt, the Copilot URL or app being used and confirmation that other users in the organization are unaffected.

I hope this helps point your administrator toward the right checks. Thank you so much for your understanding.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Vince S 0 Reputation points

2026-08-23T14:58:05.5966667+00:00

I have a very similar issue, except for myself (and my org - about 3,000 people) Copilot Chat will sometimes generate an image, but usually not. We opened a "sev A" ticket with Microsoft about a week ago, and been through numerous engineering teams with no resolution. I have spent many hours testing things but to no avail. Just commenting that I believe this to be a larger issue than perhaps MS is aware of. I do have an amazing support person who is overall working this ticket. But it is getting tougher by the day to keep addressing user questions about this issue, and I still have no answers. If you or your org is having this problem: you are not alone :-).
Vikki-T 9,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-25T03:22:27.33+00:00

Hi Vince S,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sorry that you and your organization are also dealing with this issue. Your input is valuable to the community, and please feel free to update the thread if Microsoft Support identifies the cause or a solution.