Diagnose Microsoft ADFS Errors

If an error is displayed by Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) during SAML authentication, more information about the error is available in the Windows Event Viewer on the ADFS server.

This topic applies to versions of ADFS that are currently supported by Microsoft.

To open the Event Viewer on the ADFS server:

  1. Open the Event Viewer by navigating to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer or Control Panel > Administrative Tools.
  2. In the console tree, expand Applications and Service Logs > ADFS, and select Admin.

To enable a debug trace viewer for more detailed information:

  1. On the menu bar, select View > Show Analytic and Debug Logs.

    Event Viewer - View menu

  2. In the console tree, expand Applications and Services Logs > ADFS x.x Tracing, and then select Debug.
  3. In the Actions pane, select Enable Log. Tracing for ADFS x.x is now enabled.
  4. Restart the ADFS x.x Windows Service.