February 20206 broke data refresh with tables with merged queries

[TomShanley]

Power BI file has queries with Merged query steps.  

The file refreshes fine using Janurary 2026 version or earlier.  

With February 2026, if I try to Refresh All, I get "object reference not set to an instance of an object"

I can refresh each table individually.  They all refresh fine in the Power Query editor.  They refresh fine if I remove the Merged Query steps.

I rolled back Janurary 2026 and works fine again.

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @TomShanley ,
Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

Since the issue appears only with the February 2026 version and the same file refreshes correctly in the January version, this could be related to a version specific behavior in that build when executing Refresh All with merged queries.

As a next step, you may try updating to the latest Power BI Desktop version. The March 2026 version is currently available through the Microsoft Store. If you install Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store, updates will be applied automatically when new versions are released.

Please let us know if the behavior continues after updating to the latest version.

Hope this helps. Please reach out for further assistance.
Thank you.

[TomShanley]

The online store still offers the Feb 2026 version (for me at least, in New Zealand)

I will try this once the March version is available

[v-veshwara-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @TomShanley ,

Just wanted to check in regarding youer query. Have you had a chance to update Power BI desktop and try again.

Also there is an updated version(2.151.1182.0) published in website. 
Download Microsoft Power BI Desktop from Official Microsoft Download Center

Please download this version and see if it works.

Thank you.

[TomShanley]

This version now works fine

thanks

tom

[gpvdlinden]

Is Microsoft aware of this issue and will it be resolved?

[rohit1991]

Hii @TomShanley 

The February 2026 Power BI Desktop update introduced a bug that causes a “Object reference not set to an instance of an object” error when refreshing datasets containing merged queries. The issue occurs only during “Refresh All,” while individual table refreshes and Power Query previews work correctly. Removing the Merge steps or reverting to the January 2026 version resolves the problem, confirming it is a version-specific defect in the February 2026 release.

below link show that :-

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/