"We found an unexpected character in the JSON input" error while loading data from GA4 to Power BI

[RVAL]

No problem is data fresh on Power BI service. But the error shows up while adding new datafields from GA4 to power Bi

[mfinlay]

We're hitting the same issue, despite no changes to the Power BI report. Has anyone been able to identify what invalid JSON/ASCII characters are throwing this error? We're seeing inconsistent results (sometimes the reports refresh, sometimes they don't) so it's proving very difficult to isolate the issue.

thanks

Matt

[sharonlaunwi]

The same error occured this week several times from schedule referesh.  How to prevent and solve this issues?

[RVAL]

The same error occured this week several times.I am trying to bring in a new column into the Google Analytics import and get this error - 

DataFormat.Error: We found an unexpected character in the JSON input.
Details:
Value=\31
Position=0

[v-huijiey-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @RVAL ,

The error you describe usually indicates a problem with the format of the imported JSON data, possibly due to unexpected characters that Power BI can not handle.

I recommend that you check your JSON data for any unsupported characters or symbols that Power BI may not recognize.

This includes, but is not limited to, control characters or extended ASCII characters that may be inadvertently included in the data.

If your JSON data is complex, try simplifying the structure or breaking the data into smaller chunks. Power BI may have difficulty processing very complex or large JSON files.

For information on using JSON data in Power BI, please see:

Power Query JSON connector - Power Query | Microsoft Learn

Since you are using GA4 data, make sure you follow the correct steps to connect Power BI to Google Analytics 4.

For a detailed guide on this process, please see:

Power Query Google Analytics connector - Power Query | Microsoft Learn

If you are still having issues after trying these steps, I would be grateful if you could provide more details of your problem.

Best Regards,
Yang
Community Support Team

If there is any post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution  to help the other members find it more quickly.
If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know. Thanks a lot!

[RVAL]

The same error occured this week several times.I am trying to bring in a new column into the Google Analytics import into PBI and get this error - 

DataFormat.Error: We found an unexpected character in the JSON input.
Details:
Value=\31
Position=0