Data source: access db, does not work sometimes

[ekoroleva]

Hello,

I’m reaching out for your help in understanding an issue I’m experiencing with one of our dataflows.

I have an Access database stored in a shared folder, which I’ve been accessing without needing a login or password, using my Microsoft account.

Everything was working fine until last week. Since then, I’ve been getting an “invalid credentials” error during refresh. I normally connect using my personal Microsoft account — the same one I’ve always used, with no changes to the username or password.

Strangely, the refresh occasionally works (sometimes after I re-authenticate), but then fails again the next day with the same error.

I haven’t made any changes on my end, so I’d really appreciate your support in identifying what might be going wrong or how I could fix it.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best regards,
Elena

[v-achippa]

Hi @ekoroleva,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

Thank you @BhavinVyas3003 for the prompt response.

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the super user resolved your issue? or let us know if you need any further assistance.
If any response resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accept as solution" and click "Yes" if you found it helpful.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[v-achippa]

Hi @ekoroleva,

We wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the super user resolved your issue.

If any response resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accept as solution" and click "Yes" if you found it helpful.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[BhavinVyas3003 · Accepted solution]

• Verify folder permissions with IT to ensure your Microsoft account still has access.
• Use UNC path (e.g., \\Server\Folder\file.accdb) instead of mapped drives.
• Ensure stable network/VPN connection when refreshing the dataflow.
• Install and configure On-premises Data Gateway if accessing from Power BI Service.
• Clear and re-enter credentials in Power BI under Data Source Settings.

[ekoroleva]

Thank you for your help !

In the end the issue was related to the fact that machine with gateway lost access to folder with database