How to Allow External (Guest) Users to Access Power BI Datasets Connected via On-Premises Gateway

[techVikas]

Hi community,

I’ve set up a Power BI on-premises data gateway within my organization (domain: @RCB.com) and created multiple data sources (SQL Servers, etc.) which are used in semantic models and reports across my Power BI workspace.

Everything works fine when sharing reports and datasets with internal users (same tenant/domain) — they can access both the reports and the underlying data sources through the gateway.

However, I now need to share the same datasets/reports with external users (e.g., abc@grn-app.com) who were:

Invited to our Microsoft Entra ID as guest users

Successfully accepted the invite and can access reports via email links

But I am not able to see or reuse the dataset connections (on-premises gateway sources) in their own Power BI guest user account.

I've confirmed:

External sharing is enabled in the tenant settings

The guest users have Power BI Pro licenses

The gateway is correctly set up and working for internal users

🛑 Issue: Guest users cannot access the dataset/ connection or reuse it, even though they can view shared reports via links. It seems like the on-premises gateway connection isn't available to them due to tenant separation or something else which is missing that not able to get.

[v-sdhruv]

Hi @techVikas ,

Just wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the explaination provided?
If the response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank You

[v-sdhruv]

Hi @techVikas ,

Just wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the explaination provided?
If the response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank You

[v-sdhruv]

Hi @techVikas ,

Just wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the explaination provided?
If the response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank You

[rohit1991]

Hi @techVikas ,
You're encountering a common limitation in Power BI's architecture when it comes to guest user access to on-premises data via gateway connections. While guest users invited through Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) can view shared reports via direct links, they cannot directly access or reuse the underlying datasets or semantic models that rely on an on-premises gateway. This is because data gateway connections are tenant-bound, and guest users—even with Power BI Pro licenses—are technically operating under their home tenant, not yours. 

As a result, the gateway and its configured data sources are not visible or accessible to them outside the shared report context. To work around this, the external users must either access content via your Power BI apps or shared reports in your tenant, or you may need to consider creating user accounts directly within your tenant (rather than as guests) if deeper access is required. Additionally, ensure reports are published to a shared workspace, and that you're leveraging Power BI apps or sharing via workspace access rather than individual report links, to give guests a more seamless and managed experience.

[v-sdhruv · Accepted solution]

Hi @techVikas ,
Guest users operate within their home tenant context, which restricts their ability to access or reuse datasets connected via your organization's gateway. Guest users cannot publish, edit, or connect to semantic models/datasets that utilize the hosting tenant's gateway unless they are working within that tenant's context.

Refer-Considerations and Limitations

 If you dont have option/permission to switch tenant directories, consider creating a shared workspace within your tenant and adding them as members.Alternatively, you can export the necessary data to a format accessible to them or use cloud-based data sources to eliminate the need for on-premises gateways.
Hope this helps!

If the response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank You!

[andrewsommer]

I don’t think what you are trying to do is directly possible but there are some workarounds you can try.  Guest users in Microsoft Entra ID operate from their home tenant (e.g., grn-app.com) and temporarily assume access to your tenant (rcb.com) through B2B collaboration.

However, on-premises data gateways are tenant-scoped. That means:

• The gateway cluster and its data sources are bound to the home tenant (rcb.com).
• Guest users cannot publish, edit, or connect to semantic models/datasets that use that gateway unless they are working natively within the rcb.com tenant context.

Do you have the Power BI Tenant Settings, enable "Share datasets across tenants" on?

You can try to get guest users to work inside your tenant; see if they can switch directories in the Power BI portal in the top-right profile icon.  Then you need to share build permissions with them in your tenant.

If you have the “Share datasets across tenants” on external users should be able to set up dataflows or hit xmla endpoints on your tenant. 

Please mark this post as a solution if it helps you. Appreciate Kudos.

[techVikas]

don't have option/permission to switch tenant directories