Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Join us at FabCon Atlanta from March 16 - 20, 2026, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM. Register now.

Reply
VikranthEswar
New Member

Unable to Connect to SQL Server

Hi,

I was trying to connect my Power BI with SQL Server, I was getting the below error.

Error Message:

Unable to Connect

We encountered an error while trying to connect

Details: "Microsoft SQL: The target principal name is incorrect. Cannot generate SSPI context."

VikranthEswar_0-1666006990339.png

Please help me #powerbicommunity.

 

Thanks in Advance.

Vikranth

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Yeah, that's very strange i know.

 

Try to go to File -> Options & Settings -> Data Source settings. There you can change the auth mode.

View solution in original post

7 REPLIES 7
lukiz84
Memorable Member
Memorable Member

- Can you connect to the SQL Server via SSMS?

- Did you use Windows auth or SQL auth?

Yes, I'm able to connect via SSMS using SQL Authentication.

And you are sure that you also used SQL Auth in PowerBI? Because i think with SQL Auth there would bei no SSPI context.

There's no option for Authentication in Power Bi while connecting to SQL Server. After filling in the server and database details in power bi and OK, I got the error mentioned above. It is not navigating me to the Authentication window.

 

Yeah, that's very strange i know.

 

Try to go to File -> Options & Settings -> Data Source settings. There you can change the auth mode.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Thanks, @lukiz84 for the solution. It worked.

wonderful! please mark it as solution (my answer) 🙂

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon Global Hackathon Carousel

FabCon Global Hackathon

Join the Fabric FabCon Global Hackathon—running virtually through Nov 3. Open to all skill levels. $10,000 in prizes!

October Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - October 2025

Check out the October 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.