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

July 7 - July 17 | Round 2 of the Power BI Dataviz World Championships. Don't miss your chance! Learn more

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 and SQLCon Barcelona 2026

FabCon & SQLCon – Barcelona 2026

Join us in Barcelona for FabCon and SQLCon, the Fabric, Power BI, SQL, and AI community event. Save €200 with code FABCMTY200.

60 days of Data Days Carousel

Data Days 2026

Join Fabric Data Days 2026: 60 days of free live/on-demand sessions, challenges, study groups, and certification opportunities.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.