Problems accessing Copilot in Russia

[Yaromir291]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot in GitHub

Body

I'm from Russia. This is my first time on GitHub. Copilot is unavailable for some unknown reason. Error: Failed to register with Copilot. Maybe I'm new? (My account was recently registered.) Maybe I need to create my first repository? (I don't have any.) I use Visual Studio Community 2022, Visual Studio Code, and GitHub Desktop. I don't use a VPN. My email is duck.com.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[edwinsatya]

The primary reason you are receiving the "Failed to register with Copilot" error is your geographic location.

Under U.S. trade control regulations and export restrictions, GitHub (owned by Microsoft) restricts access to GitHub Copilot for users connecting from IP addresses in Russia.

Clarifying Your Hypotheses

• New Account: Creating a new account does not prevent you from using Copilot.
• No Repositories: Having zero repositories on GitHub does not cause this error.
• Email (duck.com): Using DuckDuckGo Email Protection or custom domains does not block Copilot access.
• Lack of VPN: Connecting directly from a Russian IP address triggers GitHub's automated regional blocking on the server side.

Key Requirements to Use GitHub Copilot

1. Active Subscription: GitHub Copilot requires an active subscription (or an approved free access tier, such as through the GitHub Student Developer Pack or verified open-source maintainer status). Note: Payment with Russian bank cards is restricted by payment processors.
2. Supported Region / Routing: Because Copilot checks your IP address during authentication and code completion requests, traffic originating from restricted regions is blocked at the API level. Users residing in affected regions who maintain valid subscriptions rely on a system proxy, VPN, or network tunnel to route VS Code / Visual Studio extension traffic through supported regions.

[Yaromir291]

Thank you very much for the answer, it was very helpful!

[edwinsatya]

No worries! Glad it helped! 🙌 @Yaromir291