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risfy2025's avatar
risfy2025
Regular Visitor
1 year ago
Solved

Power BI Azure Cosmos DB v2 Connector – Connection Error

Hello, I'm experiencing an issue when trying to connect to Azure Cosmos DB using the v2 connector in Power BI Desktop (version 2.144.XXX).   Issue Details: I receive a "Cannot connect" error, bu...
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  • Ritaf1983's avatar
    Ritaf1983
    1 year ago

    Hi risfy2025 

    This type of error (a "Cannot connect" message with an empty details field) has been reported by others and may be related to a few common causes specific to the v2 Azure Cosmos DB connector in Power BI:

    Possible Causes:

    1. Missing or outdated .NET Framework components – the v2 connector may rely on specific runtime components that are not present on your machine, even if they exist on others.

    2. Proxy or firewall settings – check if this PC is behind a proxy or has firewall rules that block specific outbound calls. The v2 connector uses different endpoints or protocols than v1.

    3. Power BI Desktop version – you mentioned 2.144.XXX, which should be March 2024. Try upgrading to the latest version or testing with a slightly earlier build (some builds introduced silent breaking changes).

    4. Credential cache corruption – try deleting the cached credentials from:
      File > Options and settings > Data source settings > Clear Permissions
      and restart Power BI.

    5. Authentication method mismatch – the v2 connector may be trying to use a different authentication protocol (e.g., Managed Identity or OAuth2) which isn't supported on your local environment due to configuration issues.

    Logs and Troubleshooting Steps:

    • Check Power BI logs located at:
      C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\Traces
      Open the latest .txt file and search for CosmosDB, v2, or any timestamp around your last connection attempt.

    • Enable tracing (from Options > Diagnostics) and reproduce the error – this gives more verbose logs.

    Additional Suggestions:

    • Try to connect via the v2 connector on a different user profile on the same PC to rule out profile-level issues.

    • If it works on other PCs but not this one, use Fiddler or Wireshark to compare network traffic between the working and failing machine (look for blocked ports or DNS issues).

    If this post helps, then please consider Accepting it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly

Ritaf1983's avatar
Ritaf1983
Icon for Super User rankSuper User
1 year ago

Hi risfy2025 

This type of error (a "Cannot connect" message with an empty details field) has been reported by others and may be related to a few common causes specific to the v2 Azure Cosmos DB connector in Power BI:

Possible Causes:

  1. Missing or outdated .NET Framework components – the v2 connector may rely on specific runtime components that are not present on your machine, even if they exist on others.

  2. Proxy or firewall settings – check if this PC is behind a proxy or has firewall rules that block specific outbound calls. The v2 connector uses different endpoints or protocols than v1.

  3. Power BI Desktop version – you mentioned 2.144.XXX, which should be March 2024. Try upgrading to the latest version or testing with a slightly earlier build (some builds introduced silent breaking changes).

  4. Credential cache corruption – try deleting the cached credentials from:
    File > Options and settings > Data source settings > Clear Permissions
    and restart Power BI.

  5. Authentication method mismatch – the v2 connector may be trying to use a different authentication protocol (e.g., Managed Identity or OAuth2) which isn't supported on your local environment due to configuration issues.

Logs and Troubleshooting Steps:

  • Check Power BI logs located at:
    C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\Traces
    Open the latest .txt file and search for CosmosDB, v2, or any timestamp around your last connection attempt.

  • Enable tracing (from Options > Diagnostics) and reproduce the error – this gives more verbose logs.

Additional Suggestions:

  • Try to connect via the v2 connector on a different user profile on the same PC to rule out profile-level issues.

  • If it works on other PCs but not this one, use Fiddler or Wireshark to compare network traffic between the working and failing machine (look for blocked ports or DNS issues).

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly

risfy2025's avatar
risfy2025
Regular Visitor
1 year ago

Hi Ritaf1983,

Thank you very much for your detailed and thoughtful response. I’ve gone through most of the suggested checks and would like to share my current findings:

  • The .NET Framework components are consistent across machines, including the one experiencing the issue.
  • I tested with identical proxy settings and network environment, but the issue still persists.
  • I’ve updated Power BI Desktop to the latest version (2.144.878.0), but the error remains unchanged.
  • I cleared the cached credentials using the Data Source Settings menu and restarted Power BI, but no improvement.
  • Regarding authentication: while I’m not entirely sure about protocol mismatches, I checked the Azure Cosmos DB activity logs, and they show successful authentication and queue access even when Power BI reports a connection error.

I haven’t yet tested with a different user profile or reviewed the logs in the Traces folder, but I plan to try those next.

Thanks again for your support and for sharing such a comprehensive set of troubleshooting steps. I’ll follow up once I’ve completed the remaining checks.

Best regards,


risfy2025