Forum Discussion
Editing Dataflow error code "status code: 500"
Hi again, we're on a Pro licence, and I raised a ticket, which after some discussion and diagnostics, has been answered by Microsoft Support as follows:
"I wanted to share some insights regarding intermittent issues we've observed while editing dataflows in Power BI Pro, particularly the Error 500 accompanied by a NullReferenceException in backend traces.
As all workspaces in Power BI Pro operate on shared capacity, meaning compute and memory resources are shared across multiple tenants. When a dataflow is edited, Power BI initiates a metadata rendering session and loads the model into memory. If the shared capacity is under heavy load, these sessions can fail intermittently, resulting in the error mentioned above.
Importantly, this is not a user error but rather a backend instability. These failures are non-deterministic and can affect different dataflows at different times.
Recommended Actions:
- Avoid Editing During Peak Hours: Try scheduling edits during off-peak times to reduce the likelihood of encountering these issues.
- Retry in Incognito Mode or After a Delay: This helps clear session state and bypass cached metadata, which can sometimes cause problems.
- Consider Migrating to Gen2 Dataflows: Gen1 dataflows have known limitations in error handling and diagnostics. Gen2 offers improved performance, reliability, and better support from Microsoft.
"
I have responded asking them if Gen2 Dataflows are available under Pro licence as I'm led to believe they're only available in Fabric or Premium licences, therefore not a valid solution for us.
Response from Microsoft clarifying Gen2 as follows:
"
To clarify: Gen2 Dataflows are not available in Power BI Pro alone. They are part of the Microsoft Fabric ecosystem, which offers enhanced performance, flexible storage options, and improved diagnostics. However, access to Gen2 requires a Power BI Premium Capacity (e.g., P1 or higher).
If you prefer to continue using Power BI Pro, I recommend working with Gen1 Dataflows and applying the following best practices to reduce the likelihood of errors:
- Edit during off-peak hours to avoid issues caused by shared capacity overload.
- Retry in incognito mode or after a short delay to clear session state and bypass cached metadata, which can sometimes interfere with rendering.
These steps can help mitigate intermittent issues such as Error 500 and improve your overall experience with Gen1 Dataflows.
"
So basically, no real solution, just deal with it or pay for upgrade.
🙄
Thanks rargyle for continues updates here. your inputs truely helps our community users resolve similar issues quickly. please do share if you still have any updates related to this issue.
I replied to Microsoft Tech Support saying "thanks for your emails. I’m disappointed that I have no other real solutions. Premium/Fabric licensing is not under my remit, so I will have to continue with Pro until such time my organisation has budget for upgrade."
They replied "I wanted to reiterate that Gen2 Dataflows offer significant performance and scalability improvements over Gen1, and with Gen1 scheduled for deprecation in the near future, transitioning to Gen2 will eventually become essential. Unfortunately, Gen2 capabilities are only available under Power BI Premium or Microsoft Fabric licensing, which does limit options for Pro users at this time.Hence, please consider moving to Dataflow Gen2 for better capabilities and performance when feasible."
I have responded asking them "At the time when Gen1 is depreciated, I’m assuming Gen2 will become available on Pro licence?"...I will update here when I get a response.
Latest response from Microsoft:
"At this point, we cannot confirm details about future licensing changes once Gen1 is deprecated. As of now, Dataflow Gen2 requires Fabric capacity and is not available under the Pro license. If there are any updates regarding broader availability in the future, we’ll be sure to communicate them."
