Error: The VM configuration was rejected when creating or registering a VM on ESXi

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Attempts to create or modify a virtual machine from host UI fails with a rejection message.

Symptoms:

• When creating a new VM or registering an existing one, the wizard fails at the final step.
• Error message: "The VM configuration was rejected. Please see browser Console."
• The host may be a standalone host or disconnected from vCenter Server.

Environment

• VMware ESXi 8.0.x
• Standalone ESXi Host

Cause

The ESXi host may be in Maintenance Mode. While in this state, the management agent (hostd) rejects configuration changes, including the creation of new virtual machine objects or the registration of .vmx files, to ensure host stability during maintenance tasks.

Resolution

Exit maintenance mode to allow configuration changes.

1. Log in to the ESXi Host Client (HTML5) as the root user.
2. Navigate to the Host tab in the left navigator.
3. Click Actions.
4. Select Exit Maintenance Mode.

If the UI option is unavailable for any reason log in via SSH and run:

1. esxcli system maintenanceMode set --enable false

2. esxcli system maintenanceMode get