How to restore deleted reports and model?

[Maciekszn]

The user deleted the report and the model on which the report was based. I have PBIX versions, but when I try to open the report, a message pops up saying that it cannot find the model. If I publish the model, it will not work either, because I cannot open the report to change the model to the new published one. What can I do? Is there a way to restore the deleted file in Power BI Service? Or can I open the report in Power BI Desktop in some way so that I can replace the model with a new one before the message about the missing model appears?

[MFelix · Accepted solution]

Hi @Maciekszn ,

To my knowledge you cannot recover any deleted semantic model from the service, except if you are using a CI/CD for Fabric workspaces.

If you do not have a copy of the PBIX for the semantic model you won't be able to get the model back.

If you have a copy of the semantic model you need to publish the semantic model first and then connect the report to the newly published semantic model using the Data Source settings on the Transform option in Power  BI desktop.

[Poojara_D12]

Hi @Maciekszn 

In Power BI, if a report’s underlying dataset or model has been deleted, opening the PBIX file in Desktop will fail because the report relies on a live connection or a published model that no longer exists. Unlike standard files, the Service does not automatically retain deleted datasets for long—although in some cases, if the dataset was in a workspace backed by a premium capacity, it may be recoverable through the Power BI Service recycle bin for a limited time, or via an admin restore if your tenant has retention policies enabled. If recovery isn’t possible, the PBIX file itself cannot directly reconnect to a new model if it was built as a live connection, because live-connected PBIX files do not store the data model locally—they only store metadata pointing to the dataset. The workaround is typically to rebuild the report using the PBIX as a template, either by recreating the visuals and measures in a new PBIX connected to the restored or republished dataset, or by using a backup of the original model to republish before opening the report. Unfortunately, there’s no supported way to “replace” the missing model in a live-connected PBIX without recreating the dataset first.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Maciekszn,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Unfortunately, once a semantic model (dataset) is deleted from the Service, it can’t be restored unless you were using Git/CI/CD integration for your workspace. As

@ibarrau and @MFelix have already responded to your query, kindly go through their response and check if they asnwer your query.

I would also take a moment to thank @ibarrau and @MFelix, for actively participating in the community forum and for the solutions you’ve been sharing in the community forum. Your contributions make a real difference.

If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know.  

Best Regards,
Hammad.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Maciekszn,

As we haven’t heard back from you, so just following up to our previous message. I'd like to confirm if you've successfully resolved this issue or if you need further help.

If yes, you are welcome to share your workaround so that other users can benefit as well.  And if you're still looking for guidance, feel free to give us an update, we’re here for you.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Maciekszn,
Hope everything’s going smoothly on your end. As we haven’t heard back from you, so I wanted to check if the issue got sorted.
Still stuck? No worries just drop us a message and we can jump back in on the issue.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Maciekszn,
We noticed there hasn’t been any recent activity on this thread. If you still need support, just drop a reply here and we’ll pick it up from where we left off.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

[ibarrau · Accepted solution]

Hi. I think you should be able to open the live connected report, get the error, see everything on blank and then change the data source at transform data menu. That should load everything back.

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Desktop/How-do-I-switch-quot-Live-Connection-Power-BI-data...

You can't restore semantic models unless you are working at the service and you have git integration. It's a good practice to think in a version control strategy for developing files.

I hope that helps,

[MFelix · Accepted solution]

Hi @Maciekszn ,

To my knowledge you cannot recover any deleted semantic model from the service, except if you are using a CI/CD for Fabric workspaces.

If you do not have a copy of the PBIX for the semantic model you won't be able to get the model back.

If you have a copy of the semantic model you need to publish the semantic model first and then connect the report to the newly published semantic model using the Data Source settings on the Transform option in Power  BI desktop.