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!The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now! Learn more
I am trying to connect a SQL server using power bi but getting the following error. Surprisingly I am able to access it using Excel or SQL Server Management Studio installed in my PC. I have also enabled TCP/IP protocol using SQL Server Configuration Manager. Can you suggest how to rectify this,
Solved! Go to Solution.
Hi @avinrosh,
In your scenario, does the SSMS installed on the same machine as Power BI desktop runs?
If not, the problem may could be for either Named Pipes connections or TCP/IP connections. You can refer to this blog to solve your problem.
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/2340/resolving-could-not-open-a-connection-to-sql-server-erro...
Regards,
Daniel He
Hi @avinrosh,
could you please tell me if your problem has been solved? If it is, could you please mark the helpful replies as Answered?
Regards,
Daniel He
Hi @avinrosh,
In your scenario, does the SSMS installed on the same machine as Power BI desktop runs?
If not, the problem may could be for either Named Pipes connections or TCP/IP connections. You can refer to this blog to solve your problem.
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/2340/resolving-could-not-open-a-connection-to-sql-server-erro...
Regards,
Daniel He
Check out the November 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.
Advance your Data & AI career with 50 days of live learning, contests, hands-on challenges, study groups & certifications and more!
| User | Count |
|---|---|
| 57 | |
| 43 | |
| 40 | |
| 21 | |
| 17 |