External Data Stream issues

[LeahS]

On Monday, I was able to refresh my dashboards with external streams without any issues.  Starting yesterday, the external data streams get stuck on "Evaluating".  Does anyone have any ideas on what is happening or how to prevent it?

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @LeahS,
Thank you for posting your query in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

The error you’re seeing ”Invalid JSON payload received. Message too deep. Max recursion depth reached” indicates that the API response returned during evaluation is too complex or deeply nested, and Power Query is unable to fully parse it. When you limit the date range, the API may still be returning a large or highly nested JSON structure, which causes validation to fail before ingestion completes.

In this scenario, the issue is source/API‑side rather than the dashboard itself. consider below points:

• Ensuring the API supports server‑side filtering (so smaller, flatter payloads are returned).
• Adjusting the API query to reduce nested objects or fields returned in the response.
• If possible, transforming or flattening the JSON before it reaches Power BI / Fabric.

Once the payload structure is simplified, the stream should be able to evaluate and proceed normally.

You may also find the following documentation helpful for monitoring stream behavior and performance: Monitor the Status and Performance of an Eventstream - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Thanks, @Kedar_Pande @ @Ritaf1983 for sharing valuable insights

Best regards,
Ganesh Singamshetty

[LeahS]

Since the source is G4 (google analytics) how would I go about doing that?  I'm using the built in API connector.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hello @LeahS,
Thank you for your follow‑up.

Since you're using the built-in Google Analytics (GA4) connector, the request and response handling is managed internally, so you won’t have direct control over how the API payload is structured.

The error you’re encountering typically occurs when the combination of dimensions, metrics, or query scope results in a complex response that Power Query is unable to process correctly.

You may try the following:

• Reduce the number of dimensions and metrics selected
• Limit the date range further, even if already filtered
• Avoid high-cardinality fields (e.g: page path, event name, user-level dimensions)
• Split the query into smaller queries (for example, by date ranges or metric groups)

For more information on connecting to Google Analytics data using the built‑in connector, please refer to the official documentation below:

• Power Query Google Analytics connector – Microsoft Learn
  
  

Best regards,
Ganesh Singamshetty

[Kedar_Pande]

Streaming dataset capacity throttling.

Check service health dashboard. Restart stream endpoint. If persists, duplicate dataset (new streaming dataset sidesteps stuck evaluation). Common after capacity limits hit.

[LeahS]

That is helpful.  When I try to limit the dates, which should make the load smaller, I get the following error Expression.Error: The field 'errors' of the record wasn't found.
Details:
code=400
message=Invalid JSON payload received. Message too deep. Max recursion depth reached for key ''
status=INVALID_ARGUMENT

Any ideas on how to fix?

[parry2k]

@LeahS keep us posted. It is always advisable to check whether everything is working outside Power BI to rule out a Power BI issue. Good luck!!

[LeahS]

It is two separate external streams.  One is an API and the other is the integrated connection to Google Analytics.  I checked the Google one and all seemed fine.  We are experience some connectivity issues on site, so that may be the cause.

[Ritaf1983]

Hi @LeahS 

It would help to share a bit more detail about the source behind the external stream, for example whether it is an API, database, file-based source, or something going through a gateway. It would also be useful to know whether this is happening to one stream only or to multiple streams, and whether anything changed recently in the source, credentials, or gateway.

If the refresh is consistently getting stuck on "Evaluating," I would check the refresh history first, validate the stream independently, and review whether there were any recent schema or connectivity changes upstream. If nothing obvious changed and the issue started suddenly, it may also be worth checking for a service-side incident and opening a support ticket with the relevant refresh timestamps and logs.

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly

[parry2k]

@LeahS could you provide clarity on what you mean by external data stream?