County-level data not segregating properly in Map visual on Power BI Desktop, but works on Power BI

[SehulRanbhor]

Hi everyone,

I'm facing a strange issue with the Map visual in Power BI Desktop. When I load my dataset and use the Map visual to display county-level data, the data doesn't appear to be properly segregated — the counties either overlap or don't show correctly.

However, after I publish the same report to Power BI Service, the map visual shows the data accurately, with proper county-level segregation.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? Is this a known glitch in Power BI Desktop?

Thanks in advance!
DESKTOP VIEW :

PBI SERVICES VIEW:

[burakkaragoz]

Hi @SehulRanbhor ,

This is a great observation, and you’re definitely not alone—there have been occasional issues where Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service handle map visuals (especially county-level data) differently.

A few things you can try/check:

1. Data Category Settings:
   In Power BI Desktop, double-check that the data field used for counties is explicitly set to the correct Data Category (e.g., "County" or "County/Region"). Right-click the field in Fields pane > Column tools > Data Category.

2. Location Ambiguity:
   Sometimes, Power BI Desktop’s geocoding is more sensitive to ambiguous names or missing country/state context. Try concatenating the county with the state or country (e.g., “County, State, Country”) to improve accuracy in Desktop.

3. Regional Settings:
   Differences in locale/regional settings between your Desktop environment and the Power BI Service can cause map visuals to render differently. Make sure your Desktop options (File > Options > Regional Settings) match your Power BI Service settings.

4. Update Power BI Desktop:
   Make sure you’re using the latest version of Power BI Desktop—map bugs are occasionally fixed with updates.

5. Clear Cache:
   Try clearing the cache in Power BI Desktop (File > Options and settings > Options > Data Load > Clear cache).

6. Known Bug:
   There have been similar reports in the Power BI community. Sometimes, an issue only affects a specific Desktop build. If everything works as expected in the Service, it’s likely a Desktop-side rendering or geocoding bug.

Summary:

• Double-check Data Category and field formatting in Desktop.
• Try adding more context (state/country) to your county field.
• Make sure your regional settings and Power BI Desktop version are up to date.

If none of these help, it may be worth raising a bug with Microsoft or checking the Power BI release notes for map visual fixes.

Let us know if any of these steps resolve the issue or if you need more help!