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

Learn from the best! Meet the four finalists headed to the FINALS of the Power BI Dataviz World Championships! Register now

Reply
Anonymous
Not applicable

Web.Contents return application/octet-stream instead of application/json with 403

Hi,

 

I have written an M function that sends a post request to a API. I want to implement some error handling

when sending an incorrect parameter. When I do that the API should return a 403 status code

but for some reason the response that is returned from" Web.Contents()" is of the type "application/octet-stream" with a response that is "null", when it should be a JSON response with a 403 status code. 

 

 

headers = [#"Content-Type" = "application/json", #"Accept" = "application/json"],
response = Web.Contents(url, [
            Headers = headers,
            Content = postData
        ])

 

In Postman, Python, Curl etc. it works fine and the API returns the expected json package with the 403 error.

This is the meta data which is returned:

stormnhaab_0-1669969882339.png

 

I can catch the null response but that is not a nice solution. The proper 403 code should be handled. 
Has anybody else experienced this? 



Sincerely,

Nicolai

 

2 REPLIES 2
jdeaspe
New Member

Hey. I have same problem. Do you resolve it? Please let me know if you done it.

Daryl-Lynch-Bzy
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hi @Anonymous - you could consider using the Web.Headers - PowerQuery M | Microsoft Learn function to grab the header only.   Here a recent Blog about the feature.  New Web.Headers M function | Microsoft Power Query

Helpful resources

Announcements
New to Fabric survey Carousel

New to Fabric Survey

If you have recently started exploring Fabric, we'd love to hear how it's going. Your feedback can help with product improvements.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.

Join our Fabric User Panel

Join our Fabric User Panel

Share feedback directly with Fabric product managers, participate in targeted research studies and influence the Fabric roadmap.

March Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Community Update - March 2026

Check out the March 2026 Power BI update to learn about new features.