Data Refresh from Excel Fails

[royce4]

Hello,

I have a Power BI access issue that has been hounding us for a while. 

In summary: a user is unable able to refresh data from Excel for a Power Bi report that was shared with her. 

The report creator (author) shared report link with user.

User opens via Excel and attempts to refresh but gets data refresh failure message posted above.

Request access does not appear to do anything. It does not alert or notify author or myself (admin). It just opens up this page on the service.

Here are some additional items.

• The author built the report from source data from Dataflows (Gen1) in a separate workspace.
• All users have PPU license.
• All workspaces are Premium pre user license. Both the workspace where the report resides and where the dataflows reside
• User attempting to refresh the data has Admin access to workspace where the Reports/Semantic Models reside
• User also has Admin access to the workspace where the dataflows reside (from which the reports are created)

• User and author are Users with resharing on the data connection from which the Data Flows are built.

• User and author are Connection Creators on the data gateway the Data Flows are attached to.

• User has Excel version 2412.

In the Admin Portal

• Export to Excel is enabled.
• Users can work with semantic models in Excel using a live connection is enabled
• Allow XMLA endpoints and Analyze in Excel with on-premises semantic models is enabled

Seems like an issue with Excel and Power Bi authenticating the user.  Using Get Data>From Power Platform>From Power BI in Excel, she only sees a single semantic model despite having Admin permission access to numerous workspaces with semantic models including her own personal workspace.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi @royce4,

We are delighted to know that your issue has been resolved. Kindly mark the response that resolved your query as the accepted solution. This will assist other community members facing similar challenges in finding solutions more efficiently.

Please continue to utilize the Fabric Community for any further assistance with your queries.

Thank you.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Thank you @suparnababu8 for your response.

Hi @royce4,

We sincerely appreciate your inquiry through the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

Kindly refer to the solutions outlined below and check if they help resolve the issue:

1. Verify that the dataflows are properly configured in the Power BI service. Ensure that the dataflow refreshes are successful and that there are no connectivity issues with the underlying data sources.

2. Confirm that the user is properly signed into Power BI in Excel. Navigate to File > Account in Excel, and check whether the user is connected under Connected Services with the correct Power BI account. If not, please sign in again.

3. Attempt to refresh the data in Excel. If the refresh fails again, review the error message for further details.

4. Advise the user to access the report directly in Power BI instead of Excel to determine if the issue is specific to Excel.

5. Please note that admin access to workspaces does not automatically grant explicit access to semantic models. Navigate to the workspace, select the semantic model, go to Manage Permissions, and ensure the user has Read or higher access to the semantic model, even if they are a workspace administrator.

Additionally, you may refer to the following links for further guidance:
Troubleshoot the connection from Excel to Power BI data - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Power BI semantic model experience in Excel - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If you find our response helpful, we kindly request you to mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos, as this will assist other community members facing similar queries.

Thank you.

[royce4 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your input.

I have resolved our issue. 

How?

We did 2 things.

1. Performed a fresh install of Excel. 

2. Added Fabric free license for each user.

Cheers,

[suparnababu8]

Hello @royce4 

I reommend you that please follow below steps

• Verify that the data source credentials are correctly set up in Power BI. Sometimes, missing or incorrect credentials can cause refresh failures
• Make sure that the user has the correct permissions for both the report and the dataflows. Even though the user has Admin access, there might be specific permissions required for refreshing data
• The gateway must be running and correctly set up to allow data refreshes.

If you need additional info please visit below urls.

Troubleshoot refresh scenarios - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Credential Issues with Power BI dashboard refreshe... - Microsoft Fabric Community

Refresh a dataset created from an Excel workbook - local - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Solved: Credential issues in Power BI connecting to ShareP... - Microsoft Fabric Community

Thanks!

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