JAX-WS server-side SOAPHandler that returns fault gets “Internal Error” on WebSphere v8

Question

I have a server-side JAX-WS SOAPHandler (on WebSphere v8) that in certain cases needs to respond to the client with a SOAP response that it has in a String variable

Answer 1

This error can be resolved by disabling the generic Fault handling feature on IBM Websphere Application Servers.

In order to disable this property navigate to the Admin Console > Servers > Application Servers > > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine > Custom Properties.

Enter the Key as 'webservice.unify.faults' and value as 'false'.

Once updated restart your server and install the EARs to get the Custom WSDL errors for your SOAP transactions.