SharePoint 2013 and .NET framework 4.6

SharePoint 2013 SP1 is supported on .NET framework 4.6 but there is a known issue when installing SharePoint 2013 on top of .NET framework 4.6
During the installation the installer verifies if .NET framework 4.5 is available and fails to install SharePoint 2013 if .NET framework 4.6 is installed.
The reason is that .NET framework 4.6 replaces .NET framework 4.5 and is not a side-by-side installation. As the installer is not able to match .NET framework 4.6 to .NET framework 4.5 it will prevent the installation.
The solution for this issue is to postpone the installation of .NET framework 4.6 till after SharePoint 2013 SP1 has been installed.
More details in the following KB article:

  • KB 3087184 – SharePoint 2013 Setup error occurs if the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 is installed

 
[Update September 14th, 2016]: This is now fixed. See the following blog post for details: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/stefan_gossner/2016/09/14/sharepoint-2013-installer-now-supports-net-framework-4-6-and-above/

25 Comments


  1. Nice spot, thanks. .Net 4.6 is an optional update, so hopefully our server team won't just build new servers and install this as well. Otherwise it will make the install tricky.

    Reply

  2. Does that mean that thrid party vendors building FTC's can switch their projects to .NET 4.6?

    Reply

  3. Con SharePoint 2016 recién salido del horno, es momento de resetear mis clásicos recopilatorios de enlaces

    Reply

  4. Any word on the compatibility of SharePoint 2010 with .Net Framework 4.6 and above?

    Reply

    1. SharePoint 2010 has never used .NET 4.x. It uses .NET 3.5.
      As SharePoint 2010 does not use .NET 4.x it is irrelevant if .NET 4.x is installed on the system or not.

      Reply

  5. Hi Stefan, what is MS’s official position on support for SP2013 when .NET 4.6 is installed?
    Am I in compliance or out of compliance?
    I’m asking because developers want to upgrade to VS 2015 on their SP2013 dev single-server farms.
    Thanks for all the great posts, you rock!

    Reply

  6. Hi Stefan,
    I have hit this error, and have tried to use the .NET cleanup tool via KB3087184 as noted, however i have not been successful. I still get the setup error.
    There is no feature listed for 4.6 just 4.5 in ‘Server Manager->Remove Features’, and in ‘View Installed Updates’ there is no reference to KB3045563 as some have noted that could be uninstalled to remove 4.6
    any comments how to work past this issue? thanks a lot, mark

    Reply

  7. So it is March 2016 and the current ISO builds still reflect this bug. Is this what On-Premise customers have to look forward to? Workarounds instead of actual fixes?

    Reply

    1. Hi Matt,
      first of all: this is not a “bug”. When the ISO was released .NET 4.6 was not available so including the detecting for .NET 4.6 into the installer was possible.
      I assume your question is: why have no new ISO images been released since SP1?
      The answer to this is that new ISOs are usually created for new Service Pack levels and no service pack was released since SP1.
      In regards to workarounds and fixes: indeed, if a valid workaround exists usually no fixes are created. Why? The reason is simple: every various different problems in our product are detected – either internally or externally. The first thing we do, when we identify a problem in our product is to verify if workarounds exist and if thats the case recommend these to our customers. Each single code change implies the risk to increase the chance to introduce another regression while fixing one problem.
      By allowing our developers to focus on those problems where no workarounds exist reduces the time to get a fix for those issues and also helps to reduce the chance for regressions.
      As a result we only release hotfixes for a rather small amount of problems we identify.
      Hope this helps.
      Cheers,
      Stefan

      Reply

      1. It’s most certainly a bug. The bug should be called “Messed up .NET detection process in the sharepoint installer”.
        You can not predict the future, but there are ways to program something futureproof.
        The prerequisiteinstaller.exe DOES detect .NET correctly, so proof of that is even present on the same DVD.
        Ontopic: Thanks for this article by the way, saved me a lot of time messing around with updates(was pretty sure it was a Windows Update, because the same thing worked in the past without problems).

        Reply

  8. the method of uninstalling .net 4.6 in the attached link in not functional !! have you tried this method before posting !!

    Reply

    1. Hi Haider,
      it worked when I posted it.
      Now it is several months later and I assume you don’t have .NET 4.6 but .NET 4.6.1 or 4.6.2.
      Cheers,
      Stefan

      Reply

  9. Hey team
    I have just gone through this exercise and thought I would share the MS Update I had to remove to get my installation to work.
    My Scenario
    SharePoint 2013 (Patched to March 2016 CU) on Windows Server 2012 R2 – KB3102467 is the update that is related to .NET 4.6 that I had to remove.

    Reply

  10. Hi
    I have a strange issue with InfoPath 2013 (version 15.0.4805.1000) and SharePoint DLL (Microsoft.SharePoint.dll 15.0.4841.1000)
    I get just today the issue
    If InfoPath form with code behind is one .net framework 4.0 (like used to be) I can’t re-compile the code “The type or namespace name ‘SharePoint’ does not exist in the namespace ‘Microsoft’ …”
    If I changed Form code to .net 4.5 I can compile but then I can publish the InfoPath
    InfoPath throw an error: “InfoPath has encountered an error. The operation failed”
    Thanks

    Reply

  11. My Patching team would like to install some patches in the SharePoint QA and I came across this as part of sanity check as to which one I should let them do it and which SharePoint ones I should I should od it by myself. I came across this and caught my attention as it DotNetFrameWork but at the same time it says its for Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 “Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 and 4.6.1 for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 for x64” (KB3127231)/(KB3164024)/(KB3142036)/(KB3122660)/(KB3098785)/(KB3072307)/(KB3135994)/(KB3163247)/(KB3163291)/(KB3135985)/(KB3142030)/(KB3142045)
    Just wanted to check with you should i let them install it or it needs to be done as a part of the SharePoint Team patching. Thank You

    Reply

    1. Hi Mohit,
      .NET Framework patching is Independent from SharePoint patching. As long as SharePoint SP1 is installed you Can install .NET 4.6 and later.
      Cheers,
      Stefan

      Reply

  12. Sometimes it can also comes from a failed reboot if you have manually re-launched your prerequisite installers. Check the log report and you will see the error from the registry that is waiting for that.

    Reply

  13. Hello Stefan,
    Can I download the .NET 4.7 and install it on a SharePoint 2013 Server or need I junt update the current .NET version 4.5.x.x?
    Thanks

    Reply

  14. Hi Stefan,

    We recently ran into the big Issue of not being able to install SharePoint 2013 Foundation SP1 on Windows Server 2012 R2.
    The Windows Server 2012 R2 image we use is the default Image from Azure, which now (possibly since 03.03.22) comes by default with .Net 4.7.
    The fix/workaround listed by Microsoft (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/sharepoint/troubleshoot/installation-and-setup/setup-error-if-.net-framework-4.6-is-installed) does no longer work.
    We also attempted to add the required components with AutoSPImageBuilder but with no success.

    Could you possibly point us in the right direction of what else we could try?

    Many thanks in advance
    Claudio

    Reply

    1. Hi Claudio,
      I haven’t tried myself but I would assume that uninstalling .NET 4.7 should be possible from control panel.
      Check the installed updates.
      Below are the KB articles for the different .NET framework versions to identify the one you need to uninstall:

      KB4054530 – (.Net Framework 4.7.2)
      KB4096417 (.Net Framework 4.6, 4.61, 4.62, 4.7, 4.7.1)
      KB4054980 (.Net Framework 4.6, 4.61, 4.62, 4.7, 4.7.1)
      KB4055001 (.Net Framework 4.6, 4.61, 4.62, 4.7, 4.7.1)
      KB4041777 (.Net Framework 4.6, 4.61, 4.62, 4.7)
      KB4040972 (.Net Framework 4.6, 4.61, 4.62, 4.7)
      KB4054854 (.Net Framework 4.7.1)
      KB4033369 (.Net Framework 4.7)
      KB3186539 (.Net Framework 4.7)
      KB3102439 (.Net Framework 4.6.1)
      KB3045562 (.Net Framework 4.6)
      KB3045563 (.Net Framework 4.6)
      KB3102467 (.Net Framework 4.6.1)

      On top of this its not a good idea to install new SharePoint 2013 servers now where extended support ends next year.
      I would recommended to plan an upgrade to SharePoint Server 2019 or SharePoint Server Subscription Edition.

      Cheers,
      Stefan

      Reply

      1. Hi Stefan,

        Thank you for the swift reply.

        Unfortunately, we can not uninstall any Updates, we’ve also attempted to remove some of the listed updates over DISM but unsuccessfully. It could be possible that Azure Images don’t allow for removing Windows Updates.

        Do you have any other Idea of what we could try?

        We plan on upgrading to SP Subscription Edition, but for the meantime we are stuck with SP13.

        Kind regards,
        Claudio

        Reply

        1. Hi Claudio,
          sorry I cannot answer this. I would suggest to open a support case with Microsoft on this to investigate how to uninstall .NET framework 4.7 from such a machine.
          Please ensure to select .NET framework or Visual studio as the product to ensure that the correct team is involved.
          Cheers,
          Stefan

          Reply

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