PostgreSQL Reports Not Refreshing On Web Page

[tgg3]

Hello,

I have several Power BI PostrgeSQL DB reports that were developed in the desktop app and uploaded to the web site of our on-prem Report Server. In the desktop app they refresh as they should and update the reports. On the web site on the other hand, they do not refresh and I am seeing that the domain controller is denying it due to lack of permissions. How can it be a permissions issue if the desktop app refreshes as designed? We are on the last release of the September 2025 Report Server and Desktop Appliance. Can someone point me in a direction as to the issue?

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? Please let us know if you have any further issues, we are happy to help.

Thank you.

[v-echaithra · Accepted solution]

Hi @tgg3 ,

Thanks for the update, since the error occurs while saving the scheduled refresh, this points more toward a scheduling/configuration issue rather than the data source.

We recommend checking the following:

Ensure SQL Server Agent is running and review Job/Agent logs
Verify Report Server service account permissions on the ReportServer database
Check PBIRS logs (LogFiles folder) at the time of saving the schedule
Review Windows Event Viewer (Application logs) for any related errors

Additionally, try creating a schedule for a simple test report to confirm if this is environment related.

Please let us know what you find, and we’ll assist further.

Thank you,
Chaithra E.

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? Please let us know if you have any further issues, we are happy to help.

Thank you.

[tgg3]

@v-echaithra, This did not resolve the issue. I applied the January 2026 Report Server patch and had MECM deploy the desktop appliance. Doing that allowed me to login to the desktop appliance, refresh the reports, save them upon closing, and then the reports refreshed when opened in the website portal. If I attempt to refresh a report directly in the website portal it never refreshes. No obvious errors in the logs, no new information retrieved, it just goes off into space. Still successful test connections on the reports. I have attempted to setup scheduled refreshes but received an error. I'm not seeing in the logs what the error actually is. Where would you look to find what the issue is when setting up a scheduled refresh? Thank you in advance for any and all help. 

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

Since the refresh works in Desktop but not in the web portal or via scheduled refresh, the issue is likely related to Report Server background execution rather than the data source itself.

To troubleshoot scheduled refresh failures, check the following:

1) SQL Server Agent > Jobs > Job History

2) ExecutionLog3 table in the ReportServer database to verify whether the refresh is triggered and its status.

SELECT
ItemPath, TimeStart, TimeEnd, Status, ByteCount, RowCount, AdditionalInfo
FROM ExecutionLog3
ORDER BY TimeStart DESC

3) ReportServerService logs in PBIRS\LogFiles (search for the report name or any “ERROR” entries)

4) Windows Event Viewer (Application logs) for any underlying service-level issues

If no clear errors are found, try creating a simple test report using one table and one column from the same PostgreSQL source, then try refreshing it in the portal and via scheduled refresh, if it still fails, the issue is likely infrastructure-related; if it works, the problem is likely due to dataset or query complexity.

Hope this helps.

[tgg3]

@v-echaithra thank you for responding. I will take a look at this tomorrow. Just to be clear, we do not currently have any scheduled refreshes in the web portal. We are trying to set one up for these reports that are not refreshing independantly of the desktop version. We can access the scheduled refresh setup in the web portal, but after customizing the frequency and attempting to save, it errors out.

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

Since the connection test succeeds but the report does not refresh, the next step is to check the Power BI Report Server logs to confirm whether the dataset execution is being triggered.
If the report has no scheduled refresh configured, the dataset will only refresh during report execution. After saving the data source credentials, try opening the report with a hard refresh to ensure the dataset execution is triggered.
Look for files like ReportServerService_*.log and search for the report name, PostgreSQL, or Npgsql. These logs will show if the refresh is executed and whether there are any driver or data source errors.
Since you previously saw the Npgsql 4.0.10 message, the logs will also confirm whether the PostgreSQL driver is being correctly loaded by the Report Server service. Please check the logs and let us know if you see any related errors.

Kind Regards.

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

Thank you for the update and for sharing the additional details.

Since your PostgreSQL instance is running on Linux with MD5 username/password authentication, the recommended approach is to configure stored database credentials for the report’s data source in Power BI Report Server. This allows the report server to authenticate directly to PostgreSQL using the database account instead of relying on Windows authentication or the gMSA service account.

You can configure this from the Report Server Web Portal using the following steps:

Open the Power BI Report Server Web Portal.

Navigate to the report that connects to PostgreSQL.

Select the ellipsis > Manage.

Go to the Data Sources tab.

Locate the PostgreSQL data source used by the report.

Under Connect using, select Stored credentials.

Enter the PostgreSQL read-only database username and password.

Click Apply to save the configuration.

After this configuration, the refresh will run using the stored PostgreSQL credentials instead of the Report Server service account.
This aligns with the documented behavior of Power BI Report Server, where reports connect to data sources using the credentials configured in the report’s data source settings rather than the interactive user context used in Power BI Desktop. Once configured, you can validate by triggering a manual refresh or confirming that the scheduled refresh runs successfully.

Hope this helps,
Thank you.

[tgg3]

Also, side note. When attempting to create a scheduled refresh I get an error. An error has occured. Something went wrong. Please try again later.

[tgg3]

I have modified the web reports to use an account that has read-only permissions in the PostgreSQL DBs. It is the same account that was used to develop the reports in the Desktop app. All of the test connections are successful but when I try to refresh the reports after saving the modification, they do not refresh. No errors, no indicators of issues. Just doesn't appear to actually refresh. I refreshed the desktop app version to make sure and they all refresh and pull new data. For some odd reason, I was initially getting a pop-up when testing the connection that I needed to install Npgsql-4.0.10 or newer. I assumed this was already installed since Npgsql should be installed with the on-prem report server since June 2025. We're on September 2025. I installed it just in case and the pop-up went away. Where do I need to look in the logs or which specific log will tell me where the issue is?

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

We’d like to follow up regarding the recent concern. Kindly confirm whether the issue has been resolved, or if further assistance is still required. We are available to support you and are committed to helping you reach a resolution.

Thank you.

[v-echaithra]

Hi @tgg3 ,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Community.

Although the report file is the same, the security context used during refresh is different between Desktop and Report Server.

In Power BI Desktop the connection runs under the interactive Windows identity of the logged-in user. The database authentication is performed using that user’s domain credentials. If the user has access to PostgreSQL, refresh succeeds.

In Power BI Report Server the refresh runs as a background (non-interactive) process. It executes under the Power BI Report Server service account, or the stored credentials configured in the report’s data source settings. It does not use the interactive desktop user identity.

The domain controller denying access strongly suggests that Windows based authentication (SSPI/Kerberos) is being used somewhere in the authentication chain.

To proceed, we need to confirm:

How the data source is configured on Report Server (Use current user, Windows Authentication, or Stored Credentials)?

What account the Report Server service is running under?

Whether PostgreSQL is configured for SSPI or username/password (md5) authentication?

Once confirmed, we can determine the correct remediation path (Kerberos configuration, service account permissions, or switching to stored database credentials).

Thank you
Chaithra E.

[tgg3]

@v-echaithra ,

Due to our PostgreSQL instance being installed on LINUX vs Windows, we are running into issues trying to grant our gMSA that is used for our Power BI Report Server service account. So we are looking into how to get a read-only account that already exists in the DB servers to be configured in the website to use this account. Do you have the steps to do that or a link of how to do that? It doesn't seem like something I can just setup during the Power BI report server install wizard. 

To answer the questions:

1) The report server is setup with windows auth.
2) a gMSA
3) PostgreSQL is currently using MD5 username/password

[tgg3]

V-echaithra, thank you so much for the insight. That makes a lot of sense. I will dig into this on Monday or Tuesday.