easyMultiple Choice
MS-102 Practice Question: They cannot access SharePoint Online but can…
A user reports they cannot access SharePoint Online but can access Outlook. The admin verifies the user has an E3 license assigned. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume a licensed user has full access to all services included in the license, overlooking that individual service plans can be disabled independently.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
SharePoint Online service plan is disabled
The user can access Outlook (Exchange Online) but not SharePoint Online, which indicates that the user's E3 license is assigned and the account is active. The most likely cause is that the SharePoint Online service plan within the E3 license is disabled. Each Microsoft 365 license includes multiple service plans (e.g., Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams), and an admin can disable individual plans while keeping the license assigned. If the SharePoint Online service plan is disabled, the user will be blocked from accessing SharePoint Online despite having a valid license.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
License not assigned
Why it's wrong here
This answer is incorrect because a license is already assigned to the user, as evidenced by their access to other Microsoft 365 services such as Exchange Online. Without any license, the user would be unable to sign in to any licensed service at all. The issue is not a missing license but rather that the SharePoint Online service plan specifically has been disabled within the assigned license.
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MFA challenge failing
Why it's wrong here
MFA failure cannot be the cause because multi-factor authentication is enforced at the tenant-level authentication boundary, before any service is accessed. A failing MFA challenge would prevent the user from signing in to all services, including the service they can still access, not just SharePoint Online. Since only SharePoint Online is inaccessible, MFA is not the differentiator.
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User account is disabled
Why it's wrong here
A disabled user account would block authentication for every Microsoft 365 service, including Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, because account state is evaluated during the initial sign-in. The user's ability to access another service proves that the account is active and authenticated successfully. Thus, a disabled account is incompatible with the reported symptoms.
- ✓
SharePoint Online service plan is disabled
Why this is correct
This is the correct answer because Microsoft 365 licenses contain granular service plans, and each plan can be independently toggled on or off for a user while the license remains assigned. If the SharePoint Online (SHAREPOINT) service plan is disabled, the user loses access to SharePoint Online but continues to access other services like Exchange Online. This selectively prevents access only to SharePoint, matching the user's report.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Microsoft 365 Admin Roles and Least Privilege
Key term
SharePoint Online
SharePoint Online is a cloud-based collaboration platform from Microsoft that lets teams create, store, organize, and share content securely from anywhere.
Key term
Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is an email, calendar, and contact management application that is part of the Microsoft 365 suite, used by businesses and individuals to organize communications and schedules.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MS-102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-102 exam.