Visuals have stopped working in latest release May 2026

[deepak_at_okc]

A working report in previous version fails to load the visuals in Apr/May 2026 PBI Desktop.

When you create a new visual of same type (e.g. gauge) it works, but as soon as you apply the formatting of not working visual to new one, that too fails. so, something introduced in latest version is causing failure of json. Any help will be appreciated.

Underlying Error: QuerySystemError
Activity ID: 7172e0e5-a913-4e05-9160-d9ee652d6ebb
Time: Fri May 22 2026 10:18:17 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @deepak_at_okc, 
Thank you for the update.

Since the same PBIX works on your laptop but fails only in the VM, this points more to a VM/environment compatibility issue than a report or DAX issue. The QuerySystemError is likely related to the latest April/May 2026 Power BI Desktop rendering engine, especially when old visual formatting or conditional formatting metadata is applied.

Please try disabling Hardware Acceleration under File → Options → Global → Display, then clear the local Power BI cache folders (Cache, AnalysisServicesWorkspaces, and TempSaves) from the Power BI Desktop AppData location. Also verify the VM has the latest WebView2 Runtime, Windows updates, and the exact same Power BI Desktop version as the laptop. If an older Feb/Mar 2026 Desktop version works correctly on the VM, then this could indicate a compatibility issue with the newer Desktop builds and the VM rendering environment rather than an issue with the report logic or DAX itself.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to reach out us. We will be happy to help.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @deepak_at_okc, 

Just checking in to see if the issue has been resolved on your end. If the earlier suggestions helped, that’s great to hear! And if you’re still facing challenges, feel free to share more details happy to assist further.

Thank you.

[deepak_at_okc]

Thank you for checking in.

At this point, the issue appears to be related to the rendering of visuals via GPU. We are still investigating the root cause. It seems that GPU acceleration is available on the VM but is not enabled by default, which may be contributing to the problem.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @deepak_at_okc,
Thank you for the update.

Since the same PBIX works correctly on the laptop but fails only in the VM, the issue is most likely related to GPU rendering or hardware acceleration inside the VM environment rather than the report itself. Please try enabling GPU acceleration properly on the VM, update the graphics drivers and Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, then restart the VM completely. Also go to File → Options → Global → Display in Power BI Desktop and test by disabling Hardware Acceleration once, as some VM environments have compatibility issues with the latest April/May 2026 rendering engine.

Additionally, please clear the Power BI Desktop cache folders (Cache, AnalysisServicesWorkspaces, and TempSaves) from the local AppData path and ensure the VM is running the exact same Windows build and Power BI Desktop version as the working laptop. Since the visuals fail only in the VM and not on another machine, this strongly indicates an environment-level rendering compatibility issue rather than corrupted visuals or DAX problems. After enabling proper GPU support and updating the rendering components, the visuals should load normally again.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to reach out us. We will be happy to help.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @deepak_at_okc, 

Just checking in to see if the issue has been resolved on your end. If the earlier suggestions helped, that’s great to hear! And if you’re still facing challenges, feel free to share more details happy to assist further.

Thank you.

[Ritaf1983]

Hi @deepak_at_okc 

I would not assume that the gauge visual itself is broken, and I would also not assume that the main measure/query is the root cause.

The important clue is that a new visual works, but fails only after you apply the formatting from the old visual. That usually points to a formatting/visual metadata problem rather than a pure DAX or model problem. Something stored in the visual formatting state is probably being copied over and then the new Desktop version cannot render or query the visual correctly.

I would test it this way: create a copy of the PBIX file, create a completely new gauge visual, add the same fields/measures manually, and do not use Format Painter or copy/paste from the broken visual. Then manually reapply the formatting section by section. After each section, test the visual again.

I would pay special attention to conditional formatting, field-based formatting, data labels, callout value settings, min/max/target settings, tooltips, visual-level filters, and any measure used only for formatting. A measure used in conditional formatting can still break the visual even if the main displayed measure works.

Also check that none of the measures involved in the visual or formatting return NaN, Infinity, text where a number is expected, or an error under some filter context. If needed, wrap divisions with DIVIDE() and test each measure separately in a simple table visual.

If the clean rebuilt visual works, then the old visual probably has corrupted or incompatible formatting metadata. In that case, the safest workaround is to rebuild the affected visuals manually and avoid copying formatting from the broken ones.

If you can reproduce the issue in a small PBIX where the visual works before formatting and fails immediately after a specific formatting option is applied, I would report it as a possible Desktop regression. Include the PBIX, Desktop version, activity ID, timestamp, and the exact formatting step that triggers the failure. This is the kind of issue that Microsoft can only investigate properly if they get a minimal reproducible file.

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

[deepak_at_okc]

Thanks for your response. 

it is a strange behaviour of PBIX. I cannot go for changing all the visuls on the report and its pages. Your doubt on conditional formatting seems to be in the right direction. However, this is failing on table, metrics and other visuals as well (randomly). 

The crazy part is, when the same PBIX with (May 2026) is downloaded on Laptop it works fine, but on the VM environment it fails. I double checked the settings, all same but doesn't work on VM. 

Still figuring out what's different on VM that it's not loading the visuals. 

[oussamahaimoud]

Hi @deepak_at_okc,

Hope you're doing well!

Go to File → Options and Settings → Options → Preview Features and uncheck:

Store reports using enhanced metadata format (PBIR)

Store PBIX reports using enhanced metadata format (PBIR)

You can opt out during preview by disabling these Preview Features in Power BI Desktop. (Microsoft Power BI) This reverts to the legacy format and should immediately restore your visuals.

Hope this helps! Don't forget to mark as solution and thumbs up if OK in order to keep helping others.

Best regards,

Oussama (Data Consultant - Expert Fabric & Power BI)

[deepak_at_okc]

Hi, appreciate your suggestions and the response. I did uncheck all the preview features, but no luck. See my previous reply on the same thread.