“Failed to exit namespaces from maintenance mode due to Couldn't find WCP service end point” — Exit maintenance mode operation fails at 95%

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to exit maintenance mode on an ESXi host, the operation consistently fails at 95%, displaying the following error message : 
  Failed to exit namespaces from maintenance mode due to Couldn't find WCP service end point.Retry 67

• Additional symptoms include:

  • The Enter Maintenance Mode task may become stuck.

  • Reconnecting the ESXi host might fail in the vSphere Client UI.

  • Executing enter or exit maintenance mode via esxcli or vim-cmd commands complete successfully.

Environment

VMware ESXi 8.0

Cause

This issue is caused by a DNS resolution failure.
During startup, vCenter Server services rely on proper DNS resolution — including self-resolution.
If no valid DNS server is configured, or if the /etc/hosts file has been modified (causing vCenter to lose self-resolution), service startup and communication with dependent components may fail. This results in abnormal vCenter behavior and maintenance mode errors.

Resolution

To resolve the issue:

1. Configure a valid DNS server in your environment.

2. Set a proper hostname for vCenter Server via the VAMI UI.

Workaround:

If your vSphere environment does not have an active DNS server, perform the following steps:

1. SSH to the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA).

2. Edit the /etc/hosts file and ensure it includes:

127.0.0.1   localhost.localdomain localhost
::1         localhost ipv6-localhost ipv6-loopback
<vCenter IP Address>   localhost

Additional Information

If vCenter Server was installed using an IP address instead of a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), this issue is more likely to occur.

It is strongly recommended to use an FQDN and proper DNS configuration for stable vCenter Server operations.