Failed to decrypt credentials error

[gasatiani]

Dear All,

I have the following issue while trying to open Power BI Desktop:

 

Can anybody help me with it? The file that I'm trying to open has only Excel Workbooks as a Data Source.

[Stoejfan]

Okay, I did not have the option of going back to a previous version due to global company policies, however, I've found that the trick can be done locally by altering files instead.

Step 1) Go to "File" -> "Options" -> "Automatic recovery" -> "Open the folder for automatics recovery"

Step 2) When you're in the folder, navigate to the "Power BI Desktop" root. In this folder, you will find a file called "user.zip". Open the file and navigate to the folder "Credentials" and find the file "Credentials.bin" and delete that file. 

Voilá, you should now be able to open the Power BI file again.

NB. Beware that this error is due to faulty connections/credentials in your report and will remove the stored credentials to the data sources. Thus you will need to enter these again after doing the above.

Stefan K. Johansen

BC Group | Black Capital Technology | Black Capital Ventures

[Vipin_0209]

thank you

[mohamedm]

Thanks this worked.

[Anonymous]

We are also seeing this issue company-wide and opened a support ticket with Microsoft.

[Eric186729]

It seems like the April 2021 update broke something.  I installed the March 2021 version and it works again.  See here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/fundamentals/desktop-latest-update-archive?tabs=powerbi-de... 

[joon1lee · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Eric. Going back to the March version solved my issue for now.

[panalm]

1- Open the file "C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\user.zip",
2- Navigate to the folder "Credentials"
3- Find and delate the file "Credentials.bin"

[Demi]

2024 - Confirmed to Work 

Credit to Stoejfan for their response down below from 2022.  It still works with a slight modification to the steps. I wanted to update this topic for anyone looking for this error as this post is one of the top Google search results for this exact error.  

Step 1) Open a blank PowerBI file.  Go to "File" -> "Options & Settings" -> "Options" -> Under Global Settings, choose: "Save and Recover" -> "Open Auto Recovery Folder"

Step 2) When you're in the folder, navigate to the "Power BI Desktop" root (The folder name may be slightly different if you installed from the Microsoft Store). In this folder, you will find a file called "user.zip". Open the file and navigate to the folder "Credentials" and find the file "Credentials.bin" and delete that file

The steps are mostly the same that Stoejfan posted, but PBI updates since 2022 have altered the first part.  

[Nijathus]

this solved my issue, thanks alot!

[coathangers]

Thanks a lot for the updated steps

[LoicQ]

Thank you, works perfectly!

[joon1lee]

I have the same issue. Suddenly, i cannot access to any files I have worked. I am using the free Power BI desktop. Is this the reaason? I need to upgrade to Pro to make it work?

[gasatiani]

No, I just cleared the Cache folder and it worked. It's better to uninstall & then re-install app after you clear the Cache

[joon1lee]

Can you specify which Cashe folder you cleared? Are you using April version?

[krishanw]

can you specify which cache you were referring? can you share the path?

[Eric186729]

I am getting the exact same error.  Worked Friday; not today.  I can’t even connect to a file stored locally.  If I go to File > Options and settings > Data source settings… it is all blank.  And each time I click on “Global permissions” the same error message pops up.  I'm not sure how to clear the credentials when it looks like there is nothing to clear.  Similar to OP, tried re-installing Power BI Desktop.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[gasatiani]

I cleared the Cache folder, and it worked!

[amitchandak]

@gasatiani , is your excel is saved with a password?

Make sure you are using the latest version of power bi

[gasatiani]

@amitchandak  Thank you for your response. No, it is not saved with a password. And I think I'm using the latest version, cause I uninstalled and re-installed it again.