diff --git a/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/EntityDesign.csproj b/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/EntityDesign.csproj
index 9c3150f689..1a65a8db41 100644
--- a/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/EntityDesign.csproj
+++ b/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/EntityDesign.csproj
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@
     <Reference Include="Microsoft.WizardFramework" />
     <Reference Include="System" />
     <Reference Include="System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations" />
+    <Reference Include="System.Configuration" />
     <Reference Include="System.Xml" />
     <Reference Include="Microsoft.VisualStudio.DataDesign.Common, Version=$(VisualStudioVersion).0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a, processorArchitecture=MSIL" />
     <Reference Include="Microsoft.CSharp" />
diff --git a/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapper.cs b/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapper.cs
index 6a21ab6b32..cefe5223f0 100644
--- a/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapper.cs
+++ b/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapper.cs
@@ -61,16 +61,7 @@ public string GetProviderServices(string invariantName)
         {
             Debug.Assert(!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(invariantName), "invariantName is null or empty.");
 
-            string providerServicesTypeName = null;
-            try
-            {
-                providerServicesTypeName = Invoke<string>("GetProviderServices", new[] { invariantName });
-            }
-            catch
-            {
-            }
-
-            return providerServicesTypeName;
+            return Invoke<string>("GetProviderServices", new[] { invariantName });
         }
 
         private TResult Invoke<TResult>(string operation, IEnumerable<object> args, object anonymousArguments = null)
diff --git a/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/VsUtils.cs b/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/VsUtils.cs
index e19a316bce..1263b9dd77 100644
--- a/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/VsUtils.cs
+++ b/src/EFTools/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/VsUtils.cs
@@ -4,9 +4,11 @@ namespace Microsoft.Data.Entity.Design.VisualStudio
 {
     using System;
     using System.Collections.Generic;
+    using System.Configuration;
     using System.Data.Common;
     using System.Data.Entity.Core.Common;
     using System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.DependencyResolution;
+    using System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.Design;
     using System.Data.Entity.SqlServer;
     using System.Data.SqlClient;
     using System.Diagnostics;
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.Data.Entity.Design.VisualStudio
     using VSLangProj80;
     using VsWebSite;
     using VsWebSite90;
+    using ConfigurationManager = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager;
     using Constants = EnvDTE.Constants;
     using PrjKind = VSLangProj.PrjKind;
     using Resources = Microsoft.Data.Entity.Design.Resources;
@@ -374,13 +377,13 @@ private static void LogStandardTask(string message, string filePath, int lineNum
         {
             ErrorListHelper.MiscErrorList.AddItem(
                 new ErrorTask
-                    {
-                        Document = filePath,
-                        Text = message,
-                        Line = lineNumber,
-                        Column = columnNumber,
-                        ErrorCategory = category
-                    });
+                {
+                    Document = filePath,
+                    Text = message,
+                    Line = lineNumber,
+                    Column = columnNumber,
+                    ErrorCategory = category
+                });
         }
 
         // <summary>
@@ -2196,14 +2199,34 @@ private static string GetModernProviderTypeNameFromProject(
                     providerServicesTypeName = context.Executor.GetProviderServices(invariantName);
                 }
             }
-            catch (Exception ex)
+            catch
             {
-                Debug.Fail(ex.ToString());
+                try
+                {
+                    providerServicesTypeName = GetProviderServicesFromConfig(invariantName, project, serviceProvider);
+                }
+                catch (Exception ex)
+                {
+                    Debug.Fail(ex.ToString());
+                }
             }
 
             return providerServicesTypeName;
         }
 
+        private static string GetProviderServicesFromConfig(
+            string invariantName,
+            Project project,
+            IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
+        {
+            var configurationFile = GetProjectConfigurationFile(project, serviceProvider);
+            var configuration = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(
+                new ExeConfigurationFileMap { ExeConfigFilename = configurationFile },
+                ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
+
+            return new AppConfigReader(configuration).GetProviderServices(invariantName);
+        }
+
         internal static string GetProviderManifestTokenConnected(
             IDbDependencyResolver resolver, string providerInvariantName, string providerConnectionString)
         {
diff --git a/src/EntityFramework/EntityFramework.csproj b/src/EntityFramework/EntityFramework.csproj
index 1cb2c6acb5..9a72aac39b 100644
--- a/src/EntityFramework/EntityFramework.csproj
+++ b/src/EntityFramework/EntityFramework.csproj
@@ -252,6 +252,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Annotations\IndexAttributeExtensions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\DependencyResolution\TransactionContextInitializerResolver.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\DependencyResolution\TransactionHandlerResolver.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Design\AppConfigReader.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Interception\DatabaseLogger.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Interception\DbConfigurationDispatcher.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Interception\DbConfigurationInterceptionContext.cs" />
diff --git a/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/AppConfigReader.cs b/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/AppConfigReader.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7805583970
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/AppConfigReader.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+namespace System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.Design
+{
+    using System.Configuration;
+    using System.Data.Entity.Internal;
+    using System.Data.Entity.Internal.ConfigFile;
+    using System.Data.Entity.Utilities;
+    using System.Linq;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Provides utility methods for reading from an App.config or Web.config file.
+    /// </summary>
+    public class AppConfigReader
+    {
+        private readonly Configuration _configuration;
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Initializes a new instance of <see cref="AppConfigReader" />.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="configuration">The configuration to read from.</param>
+        public AppConfigReader(Configuration configuration)
+        {
+            Check.NotNull(configuration, "configuration");
+
+            _configuration = configuration;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the specified provider services from the configuration.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="invariantName">The invariant name of the provider services.</param>
+        /// <returns>The provider services type name, or null if not found.</returns>
+        public string GetProviderServices(string invariantName)
+        {
+            var providers = ((EntityFrameworkSection)_configuration.GetSection(AppConfig.EFSectionName))
+                .Providers.Cast<ProviderElement>();
+
+            return (from p in providers
+                    where p.InvariantName == invariantName
+                    select p.ProviderTypeName)
+                    .FirstOrDefault();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/Executor.cs b/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/Executor.cs
index ed55735f1d..f4cb53c941 100644
--- a/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/Executor.cs
+++ b/src/EntityFramework/Infrastructure/Design/Executor.cs
@@ -43,18 +43,23 @@ internal virtual string GetProviderServicesInternal(string invariantName)
         {
             DebugCheck.NotEmpty(invariantName);
 
-            string providerServicesTypeName = null;
+            DbConfiguration.LoadConfiguration(_assembly);
+            var dependencyResolver = DbConfiguration.DependencyResolver;
+
+            DbProviderServices providerServices = null;
             try
             {
-                DbConfiguration.LoadConfiguration(_assembly);
-                var providerServices = DbConfiguration.DependencyResolver.GetService<DbProviderServices>(invariantName);
-                providerServicesTypeName = providerServices.GetType().AssemblyQualifiedName;
+                providerServices = dependencyResolver.GetService<DbProviderServices>(invariantName);
             }
             catch
             {
             }
+            if (providerServices == null)
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
 
-            return providerServicesTypeName;
+            return providerServices.GetType().AssemblyQualifiedName;
         }
 
         // <summary>
diff --git a/src/EntityFramework/Internal/AppConfig.cs b/src/EntityFramework/Internal/AppConfig.cs
index 1cfb480a75..578a50d0c7 100644
--- a/src/EntityFramework/Internal/AppConfig.cs
+++ b/src/EntityFramework/Internal/AppConfig.cs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ namespace System.Data.Entity.Internal
     // </summary>
     internal class AppConfig
     {
-        private const string EFSectionName = "entityFramework";
+        public const string EFSectionName = "entityFramework";
 
         private static readonly AppConfig _defaultInstance = new AppConfig();
         private readonly KeyValueConfigurationCollection _appSettings;
diff --git a/test/EFTools/UnitTests/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapperTests.cs b/test/EFTools/UnitTests/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapperTests.cs
index fd5378d66a..54cd207b93 100644
--- a/test/EFTools/UnitTests/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapperTests.cs
+++ b/test/EFTools/UnitTests/EntityDesign/VisualStudio/ExecutorWrapperTests.cs
@@ -46,48 +46,5 @@ public void GetProviderServices_returns_null_when_unknown()
                 AppDomain.Unload(domain);
             }
         }
-
-        [Fact]
-        public void GetProviderServices_returns_null_when_no_project_assembly()
-        {
-            var domain = AppDomain.CreateDomain("ExecutorWrapperTests", null, AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetupInformation);
-            try
-            {
-                var executor = new ExecutorWrapper(
-                    domain,
-                    "UnknownProject.dll");
-
-                Assert.Null(executor.GetProviderServices("System.Data.SqlClient"));
-            }
-            finally
-            {
-                AppDomain.Unload(domain);
-            }
-        }
-
-        [Fact]
-        public void GetProviderServices_returns_null_when_no_EntityFramework_assembly()
-        {
-            var domain = AppDomain.CreateDomain(
-                "ExecutorWrapperTests",
-                null,
-                new AppDomainSetup
-                    {
-                        // NOTE: This will cause assembly resolution for EntityFramework to fail
-                        ApplicationBase = Path.GetTempPath()
-                    });
-            try
-            {
-                var executor = new ExecutorWrapper(
-                    domain,
-                    Path.GetFileName(GetType().Assembly.CodeBase));
-
-                Assert.Null(executor.GetProviderServices("System.Data.SqlClient"));
-            }
-            finally
-            {
-                AppDomain.Unload(domain);
-            }
-        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/Infrastructure/Design/AppConfigReaderTests.cs b/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/Infrastructure/Design/AppConfigReaderTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..49dd4944f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/Infrastructure/Design/AppConfigReaderTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+namespace System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.Design
+{
+    using System.Configuration;
+    using System.IO;
+    using Xunit;
+
+    public class AppConfigReaderTests
+    {
+        [Fact]
+        public void Ctor_validates_parameter()
+        {
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<ArgumentNullException>(() => new AppConfigReader(null));
+
+            Assert.Equal("configuration", ex.ParamName);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void GetProviderServices_returns_provider_when_exists()
+        {
+            var reader = new AppConfigReader(
+                CreateConfig("<provider invariantName='My.Invariant1' type='MyProvider1'/>"));
+
+            var provider = reader.GetProviderServices("My.Invariant1");
+
+            Assert.Equal("MyProvider1", provider);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void GetProviderServices_returns_null_when_not_exists()
+        {
+            var reader = new AppConfigReader(
+                CreateConfig("<provider invariantName='My.Invariant1' type='MyProvider1'/>"));
+
+            var provider = reader.GetProviderServices("My.Invariant2");
+
+            Assert.Null(provider);
+        }
+
+        private static Configuration CreateConfig(string providers)
+        {
+            var file = Path.GetTempFileName();
+            File.WriteAllText(
+                file,
+                @"<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
+                <configuration>
+                  <configSections>
+                    <section name='entityFramework' type='System.Data.Entity.Internal.ConfigFile.EntityFrameworkSection, EntityFramework' />
+                  </configSections>
+                  <entityFramework>
+                    <providers>
+                " + providers + @"
+                    </providers>
+                  </entityFramework>
+                </configuration>");
+
+            return ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(
+                new ExeConfigurationFileMap { ExeConfigFilename = file },
+                ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/UnitTests.csproj b/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/UnitTests.csproj
index 7bf0a68204..964d90f49e 100644
--- a/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/UnitTests.csproj
+++ b/test/EntityFramework/UnitTests/UnitTests.csproj
@@ -312,6 +312,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Annotations\IndexAnnotationTests.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\DependencyResolution\TransactionContextInitializerResolverTests.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\DependencyResolution\TransactionHandlerResolverTests.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Design\AppConfigReaderTests.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Interception\DatabaseLoggerTests.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Interception\DbTransactionDispatcherTests.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Infrastructure\Interception\EnlistTransactionInterceptionContextTests.cs" />