Inmport excel file

[rangancn]

when i try to import a excel file , i get the error

"Your account does not have a sufficient license for OneDrive for Business to complete the requested action. Please contact your organization’s Office 365 administrator."

although i have onedrive account, please help

[v-karpurapud]

Hi @rangancn 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric community forum.

I would also like to thank you @tayloramy , @Zanqueta , @Olufemi7  and @Shubham_rai955 for your active participation and for sharing solutions within the community forum. Your contributions are truly valuable.

I hope the information provided helps resolve your issue. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to contact us. We are always here to help.

Best regards,
Community Support Team.

[Shubham_rai955]

The error means your current Microsoft 365 account does not have OneDrive for Business available/enabled, even though you may have a personal OneDrive.​

Why this happens

• Power BI / Fabric and Dataverse expect OneDrive for Business (work or school), not a personal OneDrive (Microsoft account like @outlook.com, @hotmail.com).​

• If your tenant or user license does not include OneDrive for Business / SharePoint Online, you get the exact error you quoted when trying to upload/import Excel from the “OneDrive” route.​

Best single fix

Ask your organization’s Microsoft 365 / Office 365 admin to:

• Confirm your user has a license that includes OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online (for example, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, E3, etc.), and assign/activate it if missing.​

• Make sure OneDrive for Business is provisioned for your account (sometimes the license exists but the OneDrive site has never been initialized).​

Until that is fixed, use a workaround that does not require OneDrive for Business, such as:

• Uploading the Excel file from your local machine directly in the product (e.g., “Upload from this device”), or

• Saving the file in a SharePoint / OneDrive for Business location owned by someone who does have the correct license and using that account to connect.

[Olufemi7]

Hello @rangancn, 
The error you’re seeing is because Power BI is trying to connect to OneDrive for Business, not a personal OneDrive account. Power BI integrates only with OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Online to keep datasets refreshed automatically.

A personal OneDrive (like the one tied to outlook.com or hotmail.com) isn’t supported for this feature.

 How to work around this:

1. Import the Excel file directly from your computer

   • In Power BI Desktop, go to Home > Get Data > Excel.

   • Browse to the file on your local machine and load it.

   • Then publish the report to the Power BI Service.

   • This avoids the OneDrive for Business requirement.

2. If you need automatic refresh

   • You’ll need a Microsoft 365 Business or Education license that includes OneDrive for Business.

   • Ask your Office 365 administrator to assign you the correct license.

   • Once you have OneDrive for Business, you can store the Excel file there and connect Power BI directly.

3. Manual refresh option

   • If you only have personal OneDrive, you can still upload the file there, download it locally, and re-import when needed.

   • You won’t get scheduled refresh, but you can update manually.

Even though you have a personal OneDrive, Power BI requires OneDrive for Business for cloud imports. If you don’t have that license, just import the Excel file locally from your computer instead.

[Zanqueta]

Hello @rangancn,

This error occurs because Power BI, when attempting to import an Excel file, uses integration with OneDrive for Business to maintain the connection and enable automatic refresh. Having a personal OneDrive account is not sufficient. Your account must have a valid licence for OneDrive for Business, which is included in Microsoft 365 organisational plans.

How to resolve this

There are two options:

1. Confirm your licence with the administrator

• Check with your Office 365 administrator whether your account has a licence that includes OneDrive for Business (for example, Microsoft 365 Business, E3, or E5).
• If not, an appropriate licence will need to be assigned.

---

2. Alternative without OneDrive

• Instead of using Import from OneDrive, upload the file directly:
  • In Power BI Service, go to Get Data > Files > Local File.
  • This uploads the file to the service, but does not maintain automatic synchronisation.

Official reference:

Get data from Excel workbook files - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If this response was helpful in any way, I’d gladly accept a 👍much like the joy of seeing a DAX measure work first time without needing another FILTER.

Please mark it as the correct solution. It helps other community members find their way faster (and saves them from another endless loop 🌀.

[rangancn]

will try this and keep you posted ..

[cengizhanarslan]

Try bypassing the direct licensing check by using the Web Connector method.

1. Get the File URL: Go to the Excel file in your OneDrive for Business via your web browser.

2. Click "..." (More options), then "Details." Scroll down to the bottom of the pane that appears and copy the file path by clicking "Copy Path."

3. Import in Power BI Desktop:

   • Go to Get Data --> Web.

   • Paste the modified URL.

   • Power BI will ask for credentials. Choose "Organizational account" and sign in.

This Web connector method can often bypass the specific licensing check that the dedicated OneDrive for Business connector fails on.

[tayloramy]

Hi @rangancn, 

Uploading an excel file depends on the user having OneDrive access, as it actually uploads the file to OneDrive and then imports it into Fabric. 

If you found this helpful, consider giving some Kudos. If I answered your question or solved your problem, mark this post as the solution.