Forum Discussion

jip34's avatar
jip34
Icon for Helper I rankHelper I
6 months ago
Solved

Impossible to activate refresh in Power BI Service

My data source connects successfully to Azure Storage, but I’m unable to refresh the data in Power BI Service

Here is my situation:

  1. Connecting via the Web connector + SAS URL (this works)

When I use the SAS URL with the Web connector, Power BI can access the CSV file without any issue.

However:

  • ❌ I cannot refresh the dataset manually in Power BI Service
  • ❌ I cannot schedule a refresh

👉 This is expected because Power BI Service does not allow refreshes for a Web source using a SAS URL.
Scheduled refresh requires a stable authentication method (Service Principal or OAuth2).
A SAS token expires, and a Web + SAS source is considered non-refreshable by Power BI Service.

 

  1. Connecting via Azure Blob Storage + OAuth2 (my AL account)

When I use the Azure Blob Storage connector with my AL account (which has the correct RBAC permissions):

  • ✔️ I can authenticate
  • ✔️ I can access the storage account
  • ✔️ I can see the nexthinkreports container
  • ✔️ I can see all the CSV files

So Azure AD authentication works correctly.

 

  1. But: I cannot open or select any CSV file inside the container

Although I can list all the files, none of them can be selected or loaded.

👉 This is not a permissions issue.
👉 It’s a limitation of the Azure Blob Storage connector when using OAuth2.

According to Microsoft documentation for the Azure Blob Storage connector:

  • Azure AD OAuth2 authentication lets you list containers and blobs
  • but does not allow opening an individual blob as a file
  • direct blob access only works with:
    • a SAS URL, or
    • a storage account key

This matches exactly what I am observing.

 

  1. Summary

👉 With Web + SAS:

  • Data access works
  • ❌ No manual or scheduled refresh in Power BI Service

👉 With Azure Blob Storage + OAuth2 (AL account):

  • Authentication works
  • Container & file listing works
  • ❌ Loading an individual CSV is not possible (connector limitation)

Is anybody can help please?

Need Help
  • MohdZaid_'s avatar
    MohdZaid_
    6 months ago

    Hey jip34  ,

     

    Your issue is related to how Power BI Service handles authentication and connectors when accessing Microsoft Power BI with Microsoft Azure Blob Storage.

     

    Your observations are correct:

    • Web connector + SAS URL → Works for access but not supported for scheduled refresh.
    • Azure Blob Storage + OAuth2 → Allows listing containers/blobs but often fails when directly loading individual files depending on how the query is written.

    Below are the practical solutions used in real implementations.

     

    Solution 1 — Use Azure Blob Connector with Folder Navigation (Recommended)

    Instead of selecting the CSV file directly, load the container first and then filter to the file.

    Steps

    1. In Power BI Desktop
      Get Data → Azure Blob Storage
    2. Authenticate using OAuth2 (your Azure AD account).
    3. Load the container table.
    4. In Power Query, filter the Name column to your required CSV file.
    5. Click Binary → Combine Files.

    Example Power Query logic:

    let
    Source = AzureStorage.Blobs("https://storageaccount.blob.core.windows.net"),
    Container = Source{[Name="nexthinkreports"]}[Data],
    FilteredFile = Table.SelectRows(Container, each [Name] = "report.csv"),
    FileContent = FilteredFile{0}[Content],
    CsvData = Csv.Document(FileContent)
in
    CsvData

     

    This method works with OAuth2 and scheduled refresh in Power BI Service.

     

    Best Practice Architecture

    Most organizations use:

    Azure Blob Storage → Power BI Dataflow → Semantic Model → Reports

     

     

     

     

2 Replies

  • MohdZaid_'s avatar
    MohdZaid_
    Icon for Super User rankSuper User
    6 months ago

    Hey jip34  ,

     

    Your issue is related to how Power BI Service handles authentication and connectors when accessing Microsoft Power BI with Microsoft Azure Blob Storage.

     

    Your observations are correct:

    • Web connector + SAS URL → Works for access but not supported for scheduled refresh.
    • Azure Blob Storage + OAuth2 → Allows listing containers/blobs but often fails when directly loading individual files depending on how the query is written.

    Below are the practical solutions used in real implementations.

     

    Solution 1 — Use Azure Blob Connector with Folder Navigation (Recommended)

    Instead of selecting the CSV file directly, load the container first and then filter to the file.

    Steps

    1. In Power BI Desktop
      Get Data → Azure Blob Storage
    2. Authenticate using OAuth2 (your Azure AD account).
    3. Load the container table.
    4. In Power Query, filter the Name column to your required CSV file.
    5. Click Binary → Combine Files.

    Example Power Query logic:

    let
    Source = AzureStorage.Blobs("https://storageaccount.blob.core.windows.net"),
    Container = Source{[Name="nexthinkreports"]}[Data],
    FilteredFile = Table.SelectRows(Container, each [Name] = "report.csv"),
    FileContent = FilteredFile{0}[Content],
    CsvData = Csv.Document(FileContent)
in
    CsvData

     

    This method works with OAuth2 and scheduled refresh in Power BI Service.

     

    Best Practice Architecture

    Most organizations use:

    Azure Blob Storage → Power BI Dataflow → Semantic Model → Reports