Cannot get Power BI REST API Custom Connector to refresh in Power BI Service

[jaredf2691]

Hi, refresh works fine (though it does take long) in Power BI Desktop, but I cannot get a successful refresh in Power BI Service.  We have an enterprise gateway set up and a connection created for it.  Both are "public" privacy levels.  Any ideas?  We use this one:

https://www.thepoweruser.com/2021/02/21/power-bi-rest-api-connector/

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @jaredf2691 - Check that your gateway is online. You can do this from the Admin Portal under Gateways.

Data Source Settings: Make sure the data source used in Power BI Service is correctly configured to use the same credentials as in Power BI Desktop. This includes the privacy level settings (both should be set to "Public" in your case).

Double-check the credentials set for your data source in the Power BI Service:

• Go to your dataset in the Power BI Service.
• Click on the ellipsis (...) next to your dataset and select Settings.
• Ensure that the Data source credentials are correctly configured and match what is set up in Power BI Desktop.

Power BI known issues and troubleshooting - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Re: Refresh failed: "internal service error", "tra... - Microsoft Fabric Community

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi @jaredf2691 ,

Thanks for @rajendraongole1 reply, that's really helpful!

@jaredf2691 For security, we do not recommend using custom connectors because many of them hardcode credentials and keys in PowerQuery using plain text, which makes it impossible to securely store passwords or secrets in Power BI Desktop. In addition, custom connectors need to follow a specific Power Query development pattern to successfully refresh the semantic model in the Power BI service. I recommend that you check that the RelativePath option must exist when the current connector uses Web.Contents so that Power BI can properly validate the location of the data source without generating an error in the Power BI service. Web.Contents - PowerQuery M | Microsoft Learn

You can also consider using other methods to extract tenant data. You can choose the appropriate method based on the technology that you or your company's technicians are familiar with.

• Create a PowerShell script that exports your required data to a CSV file and uploads it to SharePoint or OneDrive.
• You can also use Power Automate with Power BI in many ways. In relation to auditing, you can use Power Automate to send requests to the Power BI REST APIs and then store the extracted data in the location of your choice.

Best regards,

Mengmeng Li

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @jaredf2691 - Check that your gateway is online. You can do this from the Admin Portal under Gateways.

Data Source Settings: Make sure the data source used in Power BI Service is correctly configured to use the same credentials as in Power BI Desktop. This includes the privacy level settings (both should be set to "Public" in your case).

Double-check the credentials set for your data source in the Power BI Service:

• Go to your dataset in the Power BI Service.
• Click on the ellipsis (...) next to your dataset and select Settings.
• Ensure that the Data source credentials are correctly configured and match what is set up in Power BI Desktop.

Power BI known issues and troubleshooting - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Re: Refresh failed: "internal service error", "tra... - Microsoft Fabric Community