Forum Discussion
Grant semantic model access to end users
Hi NorahTran97
What you’re observing comes down to how Power BI enforces dataset permissions when reports are built on semantic models across workspaces, and why it sometimes feels inconsistent. By design, whenever you share a report that relies on a dataset, the end user must also have at least Read access to that underlying dataset, otherwise the report cannot render. However, there are scenarios where access can be inherited or implicitly granted. For example, if a dataset resides in a workspace backed by Premium capacity and the report is shared through an app or has “Build” permission exposed, some users may be able to view data without you explicitly assigning dataset permissions. This explains why some of your internal users are able to see Dataset1 automatically. Dataset2, on the other hand, likely does not have those same conditions (e.g., no implicit Build permissions, different workspace settings, or stricter security like RLS), so access must be explicitly granted. The inconsistency arises because access behavior depends on a mix of factors: whether the dataset and report live in the same or different workspaces, whether the workspace is Premium, how the report was shared (directly, via app, or link), and whether users already have implicit permissions. In short, your original expectation is correct—best practice is to always grant users Read (and Build, if needed) on any dataset that underpins a shared report to avoid these unpredictable access differences.
Hi NorahTran97 ,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum and thank you lbendlin for your helpful resposne.
Thank you for the additional details. When sharing through the app with organization-wide access, users need to have the app installed and registered. If your tenant admin hasn’t enabled auto app installation, each user must open both apps at least once to complete registration; otherwise, access to datasets may not be consistent.
To ensure consistent access:
- Check with your Power BI tenant admin if auto app installation is enabled. If not, share direct links to both apps so users can install them as needed.
- It’s also a good idea to assign Read permission on the semantic models (datasets) directly to your audience, so they don’t have to rely on app registration.
Surge protection is managed at the capacity level by your admin and usually doesn’t affect dataset permissions, but the admin can check capacity settings to confirm everything is set up correctly.
These steps will help ensure all users can reliably access reports based on shared datasets.
Please review the following documentation for more detailed information and a clearer understanding:
Semantic model permissions - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Manage semantic model access permissions - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Hope this helps. Please feel free to rech out for any further questions.
Thank you .
Hi, Anonymous
Thanks for your response.
Issue 1: Internal users can see data from Dataset1 but not Dataset2
Now I understand the situation. Basically, they need to open the direct link to both Dataset1 and Dataset2 to complete registration. Once that’s done, when I share Report3 (which uses both datasets), end users can view it. It’s clear now.
Issue 2: Some internal users are auto-granted access to Dataset1, while others are not.
Let me explain: I created another report (Report4) using Dataset1, so the report and dataset belong to two different workspaces. From my understanding (see the below link), I need to share permissions on the semantic model (Dataset1) to allow end users to view Report4. However, in my case, I didn’t explicitly grant dataset permissions, yet a few users are still able to see Report4.
Could it be that because Report1 (which also uses Dataset1 in the same workspace) was shared with some users, they were automatically granted access to Dataset1? Then, when I share Report4, only users who already had access to Report1 can view it, while others who never had access to Dataset1 cannot view Report4.
Thank you!
link: Use composite models in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn