Why isn't the dashboard automatically updating when the data source is updated?

[PowerAutomater]

I have a dashboard saved as a pbix which I publish to make available via browser to other users.

Normally after updating the data source I would click on the refresh button manually out of habit, however recently I noticed that after updating the data source if I don't click on refresh the data in the dashboard doesn't change and I am wondering why. Is there a default frequency in which it will auto refresh or does it not auto refresh at all? When I update the data source I always move the previous one into a completely different folder for archiving, so since the dashboard no longer has a connection to the old data I'm wondering how is it possible that it is still showing the old data and not the new one? Is there a way to setup the pbix (or published version in browser)  to not require a manual click of the refresh button each time but automatically detect if the data source has been updated?

At the moment my data source is just a csv file, but I'm thinking what if later I want to use an MS List as a data source and want the dashboard to show the live changes as they happen in the List? Surely I wouldn't have to keep clicking refresh every day to achieve this? Update wise it's also much easier to ask someone to simply update the data source, rather than them needing to open the pbix file and risk something being accidentally deleted or broken.

[danextian]

Hi @PowerAutomater 
By default, semantic models do not auto-refresh. If you're connected to a database via direct query, data updates as the users interact with it or when a page refresh is setup (for direct query only).  For flat files like Excel and CSV, semantic models must be refreshed on schedule, via API or manually. An example of API refresh is via Power Automate. Both scheduled and API refreshes are counted against the refresh count limit depending on the workspace capacity - Pro has 8 while Premim has 48

Please refer to this article - Data refresh in Power BI 

[Ritaf1983 · Accepted solution]

Hi @PowerAutomater 

The refresh behavior depends on where your source file is stored.

If your CSV is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Online and the file path remains unchanged, Power BI can detect changes and automatically update the dataset approximately within one hour of the file being modified — no manual refresh required.
More info here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/refresh-csv-file-onedrive

However, if you move the file to a different folder after each update, Power BI considers it a new file, and the connection is broken — so the dashboard continues showing the old cached data unless you manually refresh it or re-establish the connection to the new file.

If you want to avoid manual refresh, either:

• Keep the file path static (same location and file name), or

• Use a data source that supports scheduled refresh like SharePoint List, MS Lists, or Excel stored in OneDrive.

For a step-by-step video guide on refresh configuration:
️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba1Akv63GDQ

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