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rivasrd's avatar
rivasrd
Frequent Visitor
1 month ago
Solved

Live connection error when save as pbip report

I have seen this error over the years, but is  back.

I am working on a report that has live connection to a semantic model hosted on a fabric workspace. Dataset refresh with no issues and I am administrator at workspace level. 

 

  • When I save the report as PBIX and open again, all works well
  • When I save the report as PBIP and open again, it said "cannot load the model , Cannot load model: We couldn't connect to your Analysis Services database. Double-check that your server and database names are correct, and that you have permission to access them."

     

    I have tried:

    • Remove "Store reports using enhance metadata format PBIR.
    • Create a new report and save it as PBIP, when open I have same error.
    • Reconnect the report and save again. When open it then I get same error.

       

Any Suggestion is welcomed.

Regards

pbip 

 

Need Help
  • rivasrd's avatar
    rivasrd
    1 month ago

    Well, Found the problem.

     

    Functionality "Save as" is different for PBIX and PBIP

    The issue was I had a "blank" at the end of the workspace where I deployed the semantic model.

    • When saving as PBIX the where no issues, as the report was connected with no issues.
    • When saving as PBIP the issue was that PBI desktop "trim" the connection string, removing the "Blank" from workspace name where the semantic model whas hosted and creating the problem.

    Solution: rename the workspace to remove the blank from the name at the end and all started working well.

     

4 Replies

  • SamInogic's avatar
    SamInogic
    Super User
    1 month ago

    Hi,

     

    This appears to be related to how PBIP stores the live connection metadata, rather than an issue with the semantic model itself. Since the same report works when saved as a PBIX, it suggests the connection and permissions are valid.

    A few things you can check:

    • Verify the PBIP connection metadata (.pbir/.pbip files) to ensure the semantic model ID and workspace ID haven't changed or become invalid.
    • Ensure you're using the latest version of Power BI Desktop, as there have been fixes for PBIP and Fabric integration in recent releases.
    • Try creating a new PBIP project and reconnecting to the semantic model from scratch to rule out project corruption.
    • Confirm you have Build permission on the semantic model (Workspace Admin usually includes this, but it's worth verifying if permissions were recently modified).
    • If the semantic model was renamed, moved to another workspace, or republished, the PBIP project may still reference the old metadata.

    Since this works correctly as a PBIX but consistently fails after reopening a PBIP, it could also be a product issue/regression with PBIP rather than a configuration problem.

    If possible, could you share:

    • Your Power BI Desktop version.
    • Whether the semantic model is in the same Fabric workspace as the report.
    • Whether this happens with all live-connected semantic models or only this specific one.

    That information will help determine whether this is a configuration issue or a known PBIP limitation/bug.

     

    Thanks!

    • rivasrd's avatar
      rivasrd
      Frequent Visitor
      1 month ago

      Well, Found the problem.

       

      Functionality "Save as" is different for PBIX and PBIP

      The issue was I had a "blank" at the end of the workspace where I deployed the semantic model.

      • When saving as PBIX the where no issues, as the report was connected with no issues.
      • When saving as PBIP the issue was that PBI desktop "trim" the connection string, removing the "Blank" from workspace name where the semantic model whas hosted and creating the problem.

      Solution: rename the workspace to remove the blank from the name at the end and all started working well.

       

  • rohit1991's avatar
    rohit1991
    Super User
    1 month ago

    Hii rivasrd 

     

    PBIP stores the live connection separately in the report’s definition.pbir file, so verify that datasetReference > byConnection contains the correct workspace and semantic model ID. Also test with the latest Power BI Desktop version and save the project in a new local folder. If the connection is correct but the error remains, it is likely a PBIP preview regression; use PBIX temporarily and submit the error through Help > Submit an idea/Report an issue with the diagnostic logs.

    The link below clearly explains this:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/projects/projects-report?tabs=v2%2Cdesktop 

    • rivasrd's avatar
      rivasrd
      Frequent Visitor
      1 month ago

      - Using last version of PBI desktop (June 2026).

      - Connection is correct in the *.pbir

      - Already saved the project on a new folder.

       

      I tried a new workaround

      1) I publish the report after saving it as PBIR to the workspace

      2) Sync GIT integration to update soruce control

      3) Pull to my local folder the version from git.

      4) Open the report again and it's not live connection anymore , now I have a local model.

       

      My guess is Power BI is re-writing the *.pbir and changing the conneciton from

      datasetReference": {
        "byConnection": {
      to 
      "datasetReference": {
        "byPath":
       
      I have been reading and this behaviour seems to be when you have GIT integration on the workspace.
       
      When the connection change to "byPath" and open the report it seems to change to a local datamodel where I have to refresh manualy and it's not connected live anymore....
       
      It's driving me crazy