refresh failed - teams channel as source

[powerbiexpert22]

i have created power bi dashboard which tracks pre sales activity in my company, this dashboard is using file uploaded on teams channel as data source. currently i am using my company (OAuth2) credentials to refresh the dashboard. if i leave company then dashboard would not be able to refresh. how can i make data credentials generic ( independent of invidiviual login) so that dashboard refresh is not impacted by user leaving the company

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @powerbiexpert22,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Also, thanks @m4ni, @wardy912, for those insights on this thread. Along with the super user’s solution this is an alternative to using personal credentials, you can store the source file (e.g., Excel or CSV) in a OneDrive for Business folder or SharePoint document library owned by a shared or service-managed account.

Then, in Power BI Desktop, connect to the file using the OneDrive Business or SharePoint Folder connector with a stable file path. After publishing the report, configure the scheduled refresh in Power BI Service using this account's credentials.

This ensures that the refresh remains unaffected if an individual user leaves. Make sure the account has the required permissions and a Power BI Pro license (or use a Premium workspace). This method provides a reliable, organization-owned data source.

If this post helps, then please give us ‘Kudos’ and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thank you for using Microsoft Community Forum.

[m4ni]

Hi @powerbiexpert22 

In such cases its is best practice to use an account with elevated permissions but not linked to a user.  Usually admin accounts or service principles can be created for this purpose.  Your IT division should be able to create a dedicated account under Entra ID (assuming you're using Azure identity) which has the ability to refresh and its not going to be removed when someone leaves.

The account usually has a workspace admin level permissions.

HTH.

[wardy912]

The easiest solution would be to create a service account.

• Create a new user account in Microsoft 365 (e.g., powerbi.service@yourcompany.com).
• Ensure password policies in your organisation do not apply to the account.
• Assign it the necessary permissions to access the Teams file or SharePoint folder where your data is stored.
• Grant it a Power BI Pro license (or use Power BI Premium capacity if available).

Use this account to:

• Connect to the data source in Power BI Desktop.
• Publish the report to the Power BI Service.
• Configure scheduled refresh using this account’s credentials.

This ensures that the refresh process is not tied to any individual employee