What to do about my API import being slow for some but not all reports.

[Mark_Berry12]

I have a rest API used to import data for three reports. My issue is that One of the the three refreshes very quickly ( Sub 10 minutes) but the other two, take a considerable amount of time, greater than 30 minutes. I manually refresh them at different times. Even refreshing individual queries takes longer in the slower reports than refreshing the full report with the fastest refresh time.

The Queries for all three reports are exactly the same, the only difference is the visualisations used in each report. 

The fastest report to refresh is also the one with the most number of pages. 

What can I do to speed up the refresh rate and has anyone experineced this issue? 

[Anonymous]

Hi @Mark_Berry12 ,

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the super user for the issue worked? or Let us know if you need any further assistance?
If our response addressed, please mark it as Accept as solution and click Yes if you found it helpful.

Regards,

Vinay Pabbu

[Anonymous]

Hi @Mark_Berry12 

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the super user for the issue worked? or Let us know if you need any further assistance?
If my response addressed, please mark it as Accept as solution and click Yes if you found it helpful.

Regards,

Vinay Pabbu

[Anonymous]

Hi @Mark_Berry12 ,

May I ask if you have gotten this issue resolved?

If it is solved, please mark the helpful reply or share your solution and accept it as solution, it will be helpful for other members of the community who have similar problems as yours to solve it faster.

Regards,

Vinay Pabbu

[VahidDM · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mark_Berry12 

If all three reports use the same queries but only some refresh slowly, consider these steps:

1. Check Transformations and Query Folding:

   • Ensure the slow reports haven’t got additional transformations that break query folding.
   • Simplify or remove unnecessary Power Query steps.

2. Reduce Complex Visual Interactions:

   • Complex visuals or heavy calculations (e.g., many measures, extensive conditional formatting) can slow the refresh process.
   • Remove or simplify visuals and see if it improves performance.

3. Disable Auto Date/Time:

   • Turn off the “Auto date/time” option under File > Options and settings > Options > Current File > Data Load.
   • This reduces overhead in model processing.

4. Parallel Loading and Data Types:

   • Check Options > Data Load and ensure parallel loading is enabled.
   • Verify that column data types are set correctly and no unnecessary conversions are done on every refresh.

5. Test in a Separate PBIX:

   • Copy the queries and model into a fresh PBIX.
   • Add visuals incrementally to see if a specific visual or measure causes delays.

6. Check Capacity or Gateway:

   • If using a gateway or premium capacity, ensure that there are no resource constraints or throttling issues.
   • Stagger refresh times to avoid resource contention.

By optimizing transformations, simplifying visuals, and ensuring proper settings, you can often resolve slow refresh issues and achieve performance similar to the fastest report.

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

Appreciate your Kudos!! 

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