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Troubleshooting ArcGIS Pro like an Esri Canada Support Analyst: Part 3

Published Date
Author Carson Smulders

Welcome to the third post in our Troubleshooting ArcGIS Pro like an Esri Canada Support Analyst series. While part 1 and part 2 focused on troubleshooting performance, crashes, data issues and Named User licensing issues in ArcGIS Pro,  this blog post will help you identify some key troubleshooting steps you can take when ArcGIS Pro is unable to connect to ArcGIS Online so you can get back to sharing, publishing (and searching for fun datasets in the Living Atlas).

ArcGIS Pro's seamless integration with ArcGIS Online makes it a powerful tool for analyzing and sharing geographic information. But when ArcGIS Pro is unable to connect to ArcGIS Online, it can put an immediate halt to your organization's workflows. In this blog, we are going to go over some troubleshooting steps to reestablish a connection with ArcGIS Online in order to get you back up and running. 

ArcGIS Pro will require a connection to ArcGIS Online when signing in using a Named User License or accessing Online resources such as Living Atlas layers or your ArcGIS Online content. Sometimes licensing issues may arise when attempting to sign in - we will not be covering these here. If you are running into licensing issues, check out this resource or Part 2 of this series for some troubleshooting steps and feel free to contact us at Tech Support if you have any questions. 

Now, if your licensing is in order and you are still receiving an error along the lines of: 

Keep reading! 

ArcGIS Pro and Internet Explorer

It is important to know that ArcGIS Pro uses Internet Explorer as its web client to establish connections with online resources. If there is a problem with ArcGIS Pro’s ability to connect with ArcGIS Online, there are a few things we can configure with Internet Explorer to try and establish a connection.  

First, a test! Can you sign into ArcGIS Online using Internet Explorer? If not, you may be running into a firewall or security issue. The steps below explain what to check for. 

  1. Ensure that TLS 1.2 is checked on

TLS 1.2 was implemented for the ArcGIS Platform in April of 2019. If Internet Explorer does not have TLS 1.2 checked on, you will be unable to establish a secure connection to ArcGIS Online. To check on TLS 1.2, open Internet Explorer > Settings > Internet Options > Advanced > Scroll to the bottom of the list and check on ‘Use TLS 1.2’. Try to sign in again.

  1. Whitelist domains for ArcGIS Online in the Internet Explorer trusted sites

We see this issue fairly often in Technical Support. Organizations will often filter what domains are accessible by their users. Have your IT whitelist the domains required by ArcGIS Online in the Internet Explorer trusted sites. A full list of the domains can be found here.

  1. Ensure that the correct version of Internet Explorer is installed

ArcGIS Pro requires Internet Explorer 11. You can check which version of Internet Explorer you have by clicking the gear icon in Internet Explorer > ‘About Internet Explorer’.  Update IE if necessary. 

  1. Ensure that the ArcGIS Pro active portal includes https

Most and soon to be all ArcGIS Online Organizations allow access via the HTTPS protocol only (be sure to check our recent blog post for more information).  Please ensure that your active portal includes ‘https’. To check, Open ArcGIS Pro > Settings > Portals. If the active portal does not include ‘https’, right click the portal and click ‘Edit’.

More information about configuring this in ArcGIS Pro can be found here.

  1. Check your Proxy Server settings

Accessing the internet through a proxy server may also be preventing ArcGIS Pro from accessing online resources. To test this, try turning off the proxy server settings for your LAN in Internet Explorer. If you can now connect, you may need to add the ArcGIS Online trusted sites to the proxy server exceptions. We highly recommend contacting your IT beforehand. They will be able to help you navigate your organization’s network infrastructure. 

These are the most common troubleshooting techniques you can leverage to resolve ArcGIS Pro’s connection to ArcGIS Online.  If you’re still experiencing issues after going through some or all these suggestions, please contact your distributor’s technical support team for further assistance.  We are always happy to help!

Many thanks to Tyler Scuralli for the contributions to this blog post.

This post was translated to French and can be viewed here. 

About the Author

Carson Smulders is a Support Analyst with Esri Canada. He focuses on providing support for Esri's desktop GIS technology. With a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a graduate diploma in GIS from Fleming College, Carson loves learning about the diverse range of applications to which GIS can be applied. He loves to search out interesting GIS datasets and can’t get enough of the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. In his spare time, Carson enjoys exploring and learning about his favourite geographic feature: the Great Lakes.

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