Facebook Data Connector

[Anonymous]

I udnerstand that Microsoft has said the data connector isn't currently working, but this has been going on since at least October. Are there any updates on this or has anyone found a workaround in the meantime? Facebook's API is extremely finicky, so I'm hoping I can use someone else's solution to bring in these metrics. Thanks in advance.

[EugeneLebedev]

You can either write your own code to extract data from Facebook or you can get this code off the shelf. Here is a ready-made solution for connecting Power BI to Facebook Ads: https://vidi-corp.com/facebook-ads-connector-to-power-bi-looker/

[Djordje_M]

I think you will need to rely on some of the service platforms that would get the data for you. One of them is windsor.ai

[edhans · Accepted solution]

It is being fully depreciated. They are removing the facebook connector from Excel in April 2020. I would expect this to vanish from Power BI too in the near future. You should look for an alternative source, or getting the API to working better for your needs.

"Important: Retirement of Facebook data connector notice   Import and refresh data from Facebook in Excel will stop working in April, 2020. You will still be able to use the Facebook Get & Transform (Power Query) connector until then, but starting in April, 2020, you will be unable to connect to Facebook and will receive an error message. We recommend revising or removing any existing Get & Transform (Power Query) queries that use the Facebook connector as soon as possible to avoid unexpected results."

[Anonymous]

@edhans Whaaaaaat? So instead of fixing this, they're just getting rid of it? That's awful. I'm starting to think DashThis is the right way to go, at this point.

[edhans]

I don't know who "They" is. It might be Facebook pushing back, or there was a fee for MS to have this connector and is no longer willing to pay. I doubt everything was working well and they decided to kill it. If it has been broken, Facebook changed something. Could also be MS isn't willing to invest resources to redo the connector to match whatever Facebook is doing. Or Facebook is concerned about privacy (LOL). 

Could be any number of reasons.

And to be clear, I didn't say Microsoft was getting rid of the connector in Power BI, but it doesn't bode well that they are pulling it from Excel, and I wouldn't invest time in reports using the connector, because it wouldn't surprise me in the least when the April desktop is announced the connector is gone.