FACE API - Activation

Hello @Nigil

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

I understand that your request to use the Face API has already been approved by the Customer Success (CS) team. However, after provisioning the Face resource in the UAE North region, you are still receiving an HTTP 403 Forbidden response when calling the service.

A 403 Forbidden response generally indicates that the request is being rejected due to authorization, access permissions, service eligibility, or network restrictions, rather than a connectivity issue.

Based on the information you've shared, the issue is not typically caused by the region alone. Instead, we'd recommend validating the following areas to help identify the cause.

1. Verify the Activation

Please confirm that the Face API approval has been applied to the same Azure subscription and Microsoft Entra tenant where your Face resource is deployed.

If the approval was granted for a different subscription or tenant, requests to the resource may continue to return a 403 Forbidden response even though the activation request was approved.

2. Verify the Resource Endpoint and Credentials

Please ensure that your application is using:

The correct endpoint for the Face resource deployed in UAE North.

The correct API key associated with that resource.

An incorrect endpoint or credentials can also result in authorization failures.

3. Verify the Resource Region

Although Face API activation is not generally tied to a specific region, it's important to verify that:

The resource was created in the expected region.

Your application is calling the endpoint for that same region.

A mismatch between the deployed resource and the endpoint being used can lead to request failures.

4. Verify Which Face API Operation Is Being Used

Some Face API capabilities require additional approval beyond general Face API access.

Could you please confirm which Face API operation you are calling (for example, Face Detection, Face Verification, Face Identification, Person Group operations, etc.)?

5. Review Network and Security Settings

If your Azure AI Services resource has networking restrictions configured, requests originating outside the allowed network may receive a 403 Forbidden response.

Please review the networking configuration of your Face resource and verify that:

• Public network access is configured as expected, or
• Your client is connecting from an allowed Virtual Network or IP address if firewall rules are enabled.

6. Verify Authentication and Permissions

If you're authenticating using Microsoft Entra ID instead of an API key, please verify that the calling identity has the appropriate Azure role assignments, such as Cognitive Services User, on the Face resource.

7. Verify Quota

Another possible cause of a 403 Forbidden response is exceeding the allocated service quota.

For example, if you're using the Free pricing tier, requests may fail with messages such as "Out of call volume quota."

Please verify the pricing tier of your Face resource and confirm whether any quota limits have been reached.

Please refer this

Azure Face API overview (access limited; limited access program / responsible AI) https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-services/face/overview-identity

Face quickstart (shows how to call via Foundry; not directly 403-related, but useful context) https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-services/face/quickstarts-sdk/identity-client-library?wt.mc_id=knowledgesearch_inproduct_azure-cxp-community-insider

I Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

Thank you!