Issue: Oracle Cloud Connection created without centralized On-Premesis Gateway and can't delete it.

[CWCheatham]

Hello, this problem recently happened on Friday, and I think I am up a creek without a paddle.

I have a Power BI Pro license using the On-Premises Gateway (Personal mode) for refreshes.

The company does not have a standard On-Premises Gateway installed and configured.

We use Oracle database for alot of our backend data.

I just recently upgraded to the June 2026 update of Power BI Desktop with all preview features enabled.

All of my reports that use Oracle are connected with the native Oracle database connector that utilize the personal gateway.

Somehow, a Cloud version of the Oracle connector got created on the service, and nothing will connect because we do not have a standard gateway. I have tried deleting the Oracle cloud connections and trying to rebind it with a new file, but, it just keeps coming back.

This article states if this happens, this is irreversible: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-connect-oracle-database. However, I don't understand how it could be created without an installed centralized gateway?

How can I fix this? I'm open to extreme steps at this point, minus getting the centralized On-Premises installed, because that is not going to happen this year. If I have to get our vendor to reset my entire workspace and license to start from scratch, I'm willing to do that, assuming it will actually work. Any suggestions would be helpful. I really need to be able to use the native Oracle connector with the personal gateway. 

[yanlinnnaing]

This is a known side effect of a new preview feature, and what actually happened is that when you upgraded to the June 2026 Desktop build with all preview features enabled, two of those switches were "Enable using Bundled Oracle Managed ODP Provider for Import Mode and for Direct Query Mode".

These are part of a new Oracle connectivity preview.
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Power-BI-Updates-Blog/Simplified-Oracle-connectivity-in-Po...

Referring to the blog, "the updated Oracle connector does not support personal gateways, and the existing semantic models can continue to use a personal gateway until you update the data connection binding. After you update the binding, you can't go back...".

So, when you republished from the June build, your semantic models were rewritten onto the new connector. That connector has no personal-gateway path, so the service did the only thing left available to it and created a cloud connection. That's why the connection keeps re-appearing after you delete it the semantic model's binding is what changed, not the connection object. Deleting the connection just makes the service recreate one.

If your Oracle is on premises (not Autonomous DB), that cloud connection can never work. A cloud connection has no network route to a private Oracle listener. So, it's not a config you can adopt; it has to be rolled back. This behavior describes in https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-connect-oracle-database

The actual problem resides in the semantic model bindings so here are some suggestions you can try with.

1. Roll Desktop back to the May 2026 build. Toggling the preview switches off might be enough, but a clean reinstall of the prior version removes all doubt. Then pin the version and turn off auto-update for now.
2. From Gateway machine, confirm OCMT (Oracle Client for Microsoft Tools, 64-bit) is still installed.
3. Get a clean PBIX. Use a pre-June copy from your own backups or OneDrive/SharePoint version history. If you download a PBIX from the service that's already been through the June build, open Advanced Editor / TMDL first and check the Oracle expression before trusting it.
4. Publish it as a NEW semantic model with new item name, ideally a new workspace. Republishing over an affected model will not fix it, no matter how clean the file is. The existing binding is already burned; you need the service to mint a fresh one.
5. Before you refresh, open the new model's Gateway connection settings and confirm the personal gateway is actually offered. If it is, map it and refresh, and you're back. If it isn't, stop and don't publish anything else, or you will just waste more models.
   
   Please note the personal gateway is not a supported path for Oracle going forward. Rolling back to May version buys you some time, but not a permanent fix. Once future Desktop update or service-side change can put you right back here so highly recommended to consider the enterprise gateway rather than personal gateway.