Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now! Learn more

Reply
MetricMan
New Member

Issues using a Web Certificate to authenticate API Data Source

I want to connect Power BI Desktop to a secure web application using a security certificate.  I have installed my certificate on my machine.  I can access the web URL through my web browser and see the content I want.  When I run a power bi query against the same URL on the machine with my certificate installed.  I get a 500 internal server error.  I would get a 500 internal server error if I didn’t have the certificate on my web browser.

 

I have tried to modify the following file C:\Program Files\Microsoft Power BI Desktop\bin\Microsoft.Mashup.Container.NetFX45.exe.config to:

 

<configuration>

  <system.net>

    <settings>

      <servicePointManager

        checkCertificateName="false"

        checkCertificateRevocationList="false"        

      />

    </settings>

  </system.net>

</configuration>

 

I have tried to modify these settings in the Power BI Desktop to:

 

  1. Go to File -> Options and Settings -> Options
  2. Options -> Security
    1. Check if your certificates have been revoked
  1.       Tried Comprehensive Check
  2.       Tried Basic Check
  •       Tried None
    1. Authentication Browser
  1.       Tried Checking “Use Default web browser.”
        1. Try changing my default brower to:
          1. Chrome
          2. IE.
          3. Edge

 

So far, nothing I have tried has worked.  My web browser happily accepts my web certificate, but not the Power BI Desktop application on the same machine. I spend some time looking for an answer and I would think there got to be something simple I can do to make this go. I would welcome any helpful hints.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
v-jingzhang
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @MetricMan 

 

I am afraid currently Power BI doesn't support web certificate to authenticate Web API data sources. There are some similar ideas about this requirement below. You can vote them up or create a new idea. 

Microsoft Idea  · Client certificate authentication option in Power Query

Microsoft Idea  · Support TLS client cert based authentication

 

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Jing
If this post helps, please Accept it as Solution to help other members find it.

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
v-jingzhang
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @MetricMan 

 

I am afraid currently Power BI doesn't support web certificate to authenticate Web API data sources. There are some similar ideas about this requirement below. You can vote them up or create a new idea. 

Microsoft Idea  · Client certificate authentication option in Power Query

Microsoft Idea  · Support TLS client cert based authentication

 

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Jing
If this post helps, please Accept it as Solution to help other members find it.

Helpful resources

Announcements
Power BI DataViz World Championships

Power BI Dataviz World Championships

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now!

December 2025 Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - December 2025

Check out the December 2025 Power BI Holiday Recap!

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.