API Connection Question

[amaasen]

I've tried to create a PowerBI connection to the API I was provided by our vendor, but it keeps timing out. Any suggetions on how to achieve an API connection with the details below? 

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @HarishKM ,

Thanks for the update, Glad to hear you’re already coordinating with the vendor on alternative methods. 

Just to check once you try the new approach, could you share back here if it resolves the issue or if you still face challenges with reporting even small time windows? That way others following along can benefit too.

Thanks,
Akhil.

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @amaasen ,

Just Checking back, were you able to test with a smaller date range or use the Timeout=#duration() option in Power Query? If it’s still timing out even for a single day, it might indicate an issue on the API provider’s side. Let us know if any of these steps helped, or if you’re still hitting the same timeout so we can explore next steps.

Regards,
Akhil.

[amaasen · Accepted solution]

Still an issue with even reporting 1 days worth of data. I spoke with the vendor and we are going to try alternative methods. 

[HarishKM]

@amaasen Hey,
I will below steps to troubleshoot the API issue.

1.  Ensure you're following the vendor's documentation for API connectivity, including authentication, endpoint URLs, and data fetching methods.

1.  Verify that you have the correct API key or token and that it's being correctly included in your requests (commonly in headers).

1. Ensure that your network or firewall settings aren't blocking API requests. You might need to whitelist the API's IPs or URLs.

1. You may need to adjust timeout settings. If Power BI doesn't offer these settings directly, consider intermediate solutions like Azure Functions or a custom service to handle slower data requests.

Thanks

Harish M
Kindly give Kudos and accept it as solution if its solves your problem

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @amaasen ,

Were you able to test with a smaller date range or try the Timeout=#duration() option in Power Query to see if that helps with the API call? If it’s still timing out even on a single day, it might point back to the API provider side.

Just wanted to check if any of these steps worked for you, or if you’re still running into the same timeout issue.

Regards,
Akhil.

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @amaasen ,

It looks like the timeout issue isn’t on your end, especially if the query works in Postman but not in Power BI. Power BI struggles with APIs that use session-based or slower response mechanisms. Here are a few practical steps:

Verify in Postman – If it’s fast there, the API is fine.
Reduce the date range – Start with 1 day to check performance.
Use token-based auth – If the API relies on sessions/cookies, Power BI won’t handle it well. Ask the vendor if they can switch to token-based or give a static export endpoint.
Custom timeout in Power Query – You can use Timeout=#duration(0,0,30,0) in Web.Contents() to extend it, but if the API takes too long, Power BI will still fail.

If even a single-day query times out, it’s likely an API performance or authentication issue on the provider side. In that case, pushing the vendor for an optimized endpoint or a bulk data export might be the best route.

Regards,
Akhil.

[Shahid12523]

Power BI times out likely due to session-based authentication—it doesn’t handle login cookies well.
🔹 Test the API in Postman first to confirm it works.
🔹 Use Power Query’s Web.Contents for more control, but it may still fail without proper session handling.
🔹 Ask the vendor if they can switch to token-based auth or provide a static export endpoint.

[amaasen]

The query is still running but I anticipate it will timeout since its taking so long to connect. Other thoughts? 

[vojtechsima]

Hey, @amaasen 

try to decrease the scope as much as possible, you can also use Timeout option to set manually the time out. But if it's not failing immediatell,y that'S good sign,  so it's kinda hard to troubleshoot without some network logging or something from the vendor site.

[amaasen]

It just timed out, I have a narrow scope, just pulling 2 months of data. The dataset itself should only have a hundred or so rows.

Not sure what is happening? 

[vojtechsima]

@amaasen  try single day, but without further info, it can be only the provider side, additionally, try it in Postman or other application that allowes you to send HTTP requests.

[vojtechsima]

Hello, @amaasen ,

try something like this:

let
    Source = Web.Contents(
        "https://sam.lqdt1.com",
        [
            RelativePath = "v3/getsold.cfm",
            Query = [
                token    = "<YOUR_API_KEY>",
                accntID  = "<YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID>",
                startdate= "11/30/15",
                enddate  = "12/31/15",
                format   = "json"
            ],
            Headers = [Accept="application/json"]
        ]
    ),
    JsonOut = Json.Document(Source)
in
    JsonOut 

Optionally, you need to include Authorization header, in case you need additional security layer. Either way when it will ask, set your Data source credentials to Anonymous and handle authorization inside the call.