The communication object, System.ServiceModel.Channels.ServiceChannel, cannot be used for communication

Question

The communication object, System.ServiceModel.Channels.ServiceChannel, cannot be used for communication because it is in the Faulted state.

Answer 1

This error can be triggered by your own computer too, and not just an unhandled exception. If your server/computer has its clock time off by too many minutes, many .NET web services will reject your request with an unhandled error. It's handled from their point of view, but unhandled from your point. Check to make sure your receiving server's clock time is correct. If it needs to be fixed, you'll have to reset your service or reboot before the channel reopens.

I experienced this issue on a server where the firewall blocked the Internet time update, and the server got off time for some reason. All the 3rd party .NET web services went into fault because they rejected any web service request. Digging into the Event Viewer helped identify the problem, but adjusting the clock solved it. The error was on our end even though we received the Faulted State error message for future web service calls.