How do I connect to Azure AI endpoint properly (401 errors)

Question

I set up an AI inference endpoint following the instructions:

I've tried different variations of the target url, and destroyed and recreated the deployments. I tried gpt-4o and gpt-4o-mini as well. But whatever I try I get a 401 error when I attempt to connect to it using a REST client. Can anyone provide an example of an URL that works with an AI inference endpoint? Or a Postman collection that works?

I'm running on an Azure trial account, could that be the issue?

 curl -X POST https://sherm-m5x0h0o0-swedencentral.openai.azure.com/openai/deployments/gpt-35-turbo-instruct/chat/completions?api-version=2024-08-01-preview -H "Authorization: Bearer redacted-token-goes here" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"messages":[{"role":"system","content":"You are a helpful assistant."},{"role":"user","content":"Explain Riemanns conjecture in 1 paragraph."}],"max_tokens":150}' { "statusCode": 401, "message": "Unauthorized. Access token is missing, invalid, audience is incorrect (https://cognitiveservices.azure.com), or have expired." }

Tried recreating the tokens too.

Answer 1

Hello @SHERMAN BOYD , Greetings!

Thanks for posting your question in Microsoft Q&A, apologize for any inconvenience caused on this.

A 401 Unauthorized error typically points to issues with your access token. Here are common causes and solutions:

• Invalid or Missing Token: Ensure your access token is correctly generated and included in the Authorization header.
• Incorrect Audience: Verify the token's audience is set to https://cognitiveservices.azure.com.
• Trial Account Limitations: Trial accounts may have restrictions on available models and usage quotas. Check Azure AI Usage Limitations for more details.
• Postman Collection: Use a Postman collection for testing to ensure correct headers and payload structure. Example collections for Azure AI are available in the documentation.

For trial accounts, consider using the free tier (SKU: F0) to explore the service. Review pricing options here: Azure Cognitive Services Pricing.

Additional Tip: Try using a freshly generated access token to resolve potential token issues.

Do let me know if you are still the facing the issue.