Forum Discussion
Couldnt refresh data visual but data refreshed on OneDrive.
Hi all,
Relatively new to PowerBi and PowerApps, not sure what happened but when I enter a input via powerApps, it updates into my excel file on OneDrive. However, when I click refresh now on my powerBi desktop, my matrix visualization stays the same.
This is the error that I am encounting, but things were not like this last few day everything was working fine. (Left photo is from OneDrive Excel, right is my matrix table in PowerBI)
Any help would be appreciated, still trying to learn more about PowerBI!
Hi Anonymous
This behavior is common when connecting Excel (OneDrive) to Power BI, and usually happens because of how the file path and credentials are set up. Here’s a complete checklist to fix it:
1. Check how your Excel is connected
- If your file path in Power BI Desktop looks like this:
C:\Users\<name>\OneDrive\Feedback.xlsx >> this is a local sync folder. Power BI Service cannot refresh it. - It must use the cloud URL (SharePoint/OneDrive link) like this:
https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/.../Feedback.xlsx >> this works in both Desktop & Service.
Fix: Go to Get Data >>Web >> Paste OneDrive/SharePoint file link (copy the file’s URL from OneDrive in the browser). Reconnect using that.
2. Update credentials in Power BI Service
- Publish your report again after fixing the connection.
- In Power BI Service >> Workspace >> Dataset >> Settings >> Data source credentials.
- Re-enter your Microsoft 365 (OneDrive/SharePoint) login and make sure it shows valid.
- Now try “Refresh now” it should pull the latest file.
3. If refresh still fails
- Error: Gateway required >> You are still on a local path. Reconnect with the cloud URL.
- Error: Access denied >> Make sure the account used in Power BI Service has access to that Excel file on OneDrive.
- Error: Stale data in Desktop >> Clear Desktop cache (File >> Options >> Data Load >> Clear cache) and refresh again.
4. File locking issues (PowerApps + Excel)
If PowerApps is constantly writing into the Excel, sometimes the file gets locked and Power BI only sees the previous snapshot.
- Long-term fix: Store PowerApps data in Dataverse or a SharePoint List instead of Excel. Power BI refresh against these sources is more reliable.
5. Best practice
- Always connect via OneDrive/SharePoint online link, not local folder.
- Use scheduled refresh in the Service (every 30 mins / 1 hour).
- If you want real-time updates from PowerApps, consider SharePoint List or Dataverse.
Once you reconnect the file using the online URL and update credentials in the Service, your visuals will refresh correctly.
- If your file path in Power BI Desktop looks like this:
7 Replies
rohit1991Super User
Hi Anonymous
This behavior is common when connecting Excel (OneDrive) to Power BI, and usually happens because of how the file path and credentials are set up. Here’s a complete checklist to fix it:
1. Check how your Excel is connected
- If your file path in Power BI Desktop looks like this:
C:\Users\<name>\OneDrive\Feedback.xlsx >> this is a local sync folder. Power BI Service cannot refresh it. - It must use the cloud URL (SharePoint/OneDrive link) like this:
https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/.../Feedback.xlsx >> this works in both Desktop & Service.
Fix: Go to Get Data >>Web >> Paste OneDrive/SharePoint file link (copy the file’s URL from OneDrive in the browser). Reconnect using that.
2. Update credentials in Power BI Service
- Publish your report again after fixing the connection.
- In Power BI Service >> Workspace >> Dataset >> Settings >> Data source credentials.
- Re-enter your Microsoft 365 (OneDrive/SharePoint) login and make sure it shows valid.
- Now try “Refresh now” it should pull the latest file.
3. If refresh still fails
- Error: Gateway required >> You are still on a local path. Reconnect with the cloud URL.
- Error: Access denied >> Make sure the account used in Power BI Service has access to that Excel file on OneDrive.
- Error: Stale data in Desktop >> Clear Desktop cache (File >> Options >> Data Load >> Clear cache) and refresh again.
4. File locking issues (PowerApps + Excel)
If PowerApps is constantly writing into the Excel, sometimes the file gets locked and Power BI only sees the previous snapshot.
- Long-term fix: Store PowerApps data in Dataverse or a SharePoint List instead of Excel. Power BI refresh against these sources is more reliable.
5. Best practice
- Always connect via OneDrive/SharePoint online link, not local folder.
- Use scheduled refresh in the Service (every 30 mins / 1 hour).
- If you want real-time updates from PowerApps, consider SharePoint List or Dataverse.
Once you reconnect the file using the online URL and update credentials in the Service, your visuals will refresh correctly.
- rohit1991
Hi Anonymous
Great to hear credentials are working and the semantic model refresh succeeded. If visuals are still stuck, here are the key things to check:
- Force a visual refresh >> In your report, click the top-right “…” >> Refresh visuals. Or reload in an incognito browser to bypass cache.
- Confirm dataset binding >> Go to report settings and make sure the report is connected to the same semantic model that you just refreshed. Sometimes after republish, there are duplicate datasets and the report may be linked to the old one.
- Check workspace dataflow >> If you’re using dataflows, confirm the dataset is mapped correctly to the refreshed flow.
- Re-publish to resync >> From Power BI Desktop, open your PBIX and re-publish once more to overwrite the Service report + dataset binding.
- Clear browser cache >> Sometimes stale visuals are just cached in the browser.
In almost all cases, either the report is bound to an older dataset or cached visuals are showing. Once you force-refresh visuals or re-publish to align with the refreshed semantic model, your visuals should reflect the new data.
- If your file path in Power BI Desktop looks like this:
v-sgandrathiCommunity Support
Hi Anonymous,
I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided by rohit1991. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.
Thank you and continue using Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.
- v-sgandrathi
Hi Anonymous,
As we have not received a response from you yet, I would like to confirm whether you have successfully resolved the issue or if you require further assistance.
Thank you.
- v-sgandrathi
Hi Anonymous,
Just checking in -- have you had a chance to review and try the provided solution? Kindly share the status whenever you get a chance.
Looking forward to your response.