Forum Discussion
Refresh All and Service refresh not returning new data — manual table refresh works fine
- Power BI Desktop (latest) · Power BI Service
- On-premises data gateway — March 2026 (up to date)
- SQL Server on Windows Server · Import mode
Problem:
I have a Power BI report connected to an on-premises SQL Server database via the on-premises data gateway. When I do Refresh All in Power BI Desktop, or trigger a refresh from the Power BI Service, the refresh completes successfully — no errors — but the report still shows old data. No new rows appear.
However, if I go into Power bi desktop and manually refresh each table individually, I do get the new data as expected.
What I already checked:
Gateway is confirmed online, up to date (March 2026), server and database names match exactly between Desktop and gateway configuration. Only one gateway installed. The refresh history in the Service shows Completed with a duration of ~13 minutes and 35 million rows processed — so the gateway is clearly reaching SQL Server.
Warnings on Service refresh:
- Column 'Montant' in table 'x' cannot be found or may not be used in this expression.
- The expression refers to multiple columns. Multiple columns cannot be converted to a scalar value.
- Column 'a' in table '1' cannot be found or may not be used in this expression.
- Cannot find table '2'.
- Cannot find table '3'.
- Function 'SWITCH' does not support comparing values of type Text with values of type Integer.
Question:
Why does refreshing each table manually work, but Refresh All and the Service refresh do not show new data? Are these DAX warnings the cause, and if so — why would broken DAX measures prevent the raw data from appearing in visuals after a full refresh?
Hi chelly911,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to garvitgupta96, Lodha_Jaydeep, for those inputs on this thread.
The issue is not with the gateway or data load, but with semantic model processing failures. Your refresh is successfully pulling data (as seen from the row count), but the warnings like missing columns/tables, invalid DAX, and type mismatches indicate that parts of the model (calculated columns, measures, relationships) are breaking during a full refresh. When this happens, Power BI keeps the last valid model state, so visuals continue to show old data. Manual table refresh works because it only executes Power Query (M) and doesn’t validate the full model.
To fix this, resolve all model warnings/errors: correct DAX references, ensure columns/tables exist, and fix data type mismatches (e.g., in SWITCH). Also review relationships and remove any broken dependencies. As a check, temporarily disable calculated tables/columns and run Refresh All, if new data appears, the issue is confirmed in model logic. Once all errors are fixed, clear cache, refresh again, and republish to the Service. After the model processes without warnings, new data will appear correctly.
Thank you for using the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.
12 Replies
- Lodha_Jaydeep
Solution Sage
Hi chelly911 ,
Thanks for reaching to community, will happy to assists.As you mentioned refresh all doesn't affecting report update to get the new data. Below are cause and fixes you can try.
This behavior usually points to a difference between Power Query refresh vs model refresh in Power BI.
What’s really happening:
- Manual table refresh (Power Query Editor) → fetches fresh data directly from source → you see new rows
- Refresh All / Service refresh → refreshes the entire model, including relationships, DAX, and dependencies
If there are model-level issues (relationships, calculated tables/columns, or dependencies), the refresh can complete but still result in:
- Old data being shown
- Or model not updating correctly in visuals
Most likely causes in your case:
- Broken dependencies in model
- Errors like “column/table not found” indicate something is failing during full model processing
- This can prevent proper data propagation even if refresh “succeeds”
- Calculated tables / columns
- These are only recalculated during full refresh (not per-table preview)
- If they fail, they can block or distort results
- Relationship or filter issues
- New rows may not appear if relationships/filter context exclude them
- Incremental refresh / partitions (if used)
- Only certain partitions refresh → new data might not be include
What to check:
As per refresh warnings in the power bi. It looks like some visuals/Dax measures are breaking and model get stop the refresh after encountring the error.
- Validate calculated tables/columns
- Check model relationships and filters
- Review incremental refresh settings (if any)
- Fix the reported errors (they do matter, but not because of load)
Power BI sometimes treats these as non-blocking warnings, so refresh completes but results are inconsistent. Tha't why like it's not returned as an error but data is not updating in the report.
Hope this helps! Please consider this as an accepted solution if it is work for you.
I misexplained it when I manually refresh the tables in Power BI Desktop, I get the new rows. However, when I use “Refresh All” in Power BI Desktop or refresh in the Service, the new rows do not appear.
- garvitgupta96
Resolver II
Hi chelly911,
This is a common misunderstanding between model refresh and M query refresh. In Power BI desktop & service, refresh all perform a full semantic model reprocessing, not just a data reload. This includes:
- Importing data from SQL Server and relationship modelling
- Re‑validating all DAX measures, calculated columns, and model dependencies
When you manually refresh tables inside power query, only the M queries are executed. The model (DAX, measures, relationships) is not fully revalidated, so new rows appear temporarily and give the impression that the refresh works. During a full refresh, Power BI validates the entire model as a single atomic unit. If validation fails, Power BI silently keeps the last valid model snapshot, even though the refresh status shows Completed.
If my answer helped you solve the problem, please consider accepting it as the solution and help other members to use the same solution in same/similar situations.
I misexplained it when I manually refresh the tables in Power BI Desktop, I get the new rows. However, when I use “Refresh All” in Power BI Desktop or refresh in the Service, the new rows do not appear.
- garvitgupta96
It would still be the same issue. When you manually refresh a single table - all it does is refresh the Power query of that table but does not refresh the relationships or any incremental refreshes (if any). Can you please confirm if there are any incremental refresh enabled on your model?
v-kpoloju-msftCommunity Support
Hi chelly911,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to garvitgupta96, Lodha_Jaydeep, for those inputs on this thread.Has your issue been resolved? If the response provided by the community member garvitgupta96, Lodha_Jaydeep, addressed your query, could you please confirm? It helps us ensure that the solutions provided are effective and beneficial for everyone.
Hope this helps clarify things and let me know what you find after giving these steps a try happy to help you investigate this further.
Thank you for using the Microsoft Community Forum.Nothing worked, thanks.
- v-kpoloju-msft
Hi chelly911,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to garvitgupta96, Lodha_Jaydeep, for those inputs on this thread.
The issue is not with the gateway or data load, but with semantic model processing failures. Your refresh is successfully pulling data (as seen from the row count), but the warnings like missing columns/tables, invalid DAX, and type mismatches indicate that parts of the model (calculated columns, measures, relationships) are breaking during a full refresh. When this happens, Power BI keeps the last valid model state, so visuals continue to show old data. Manual table refresh works because it only executes Power Query (M) and doesn’t validate the full model.
To fix this, resolve all model warnings/errors: correct DAX references, ensure columns/tables exist, and fix data type mismatches (e.g., in SWITCH). Also review relationships and remove any broken dependencies. As a check, temporarily disable calculated tables/columns and run Refresh All, if new data appears, the issue is confirmed in model logic. Once all errors are fixed, clear cache, refresh again, and republish to the Service. After the model processes without warnings, new data will appear correctly.
Thank you for using the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.
V-yubandi-msftHi chelly911 ,
We haven’t received any update from your side yet. Please let us know if you need any additional details or clarification from our side.
Thanks.
