Power BI Login (personal email account vs service account) behaviour

[RicardoV4]

Hello,

I have a doubt on the behaviour of PowerBI desktop. 

Till now i've been using my personal account to process reports, either locally and on PBI Service.

In this option, when i downloaded the PBIX and then opened and processed locally, a window appeared for me to do the login (and phone authentication) on all sources (2 Excel, 3 SPlists, several tables from data lake), so it was quick, maybe with VPN didn't even need to do login, it was basically smooth.

Now I'm starting to use a service account, process reports on PBI service are OK but when if I download the PBIX and try to run locally (with service account) it returns an error on data lake access:
"- table_xx_yy
Microsoft SQL: cannot open server "abvcde.com" requested by the login. The login failed"

This is normal, i believe, as it is a service account.

My doubt is here: while previously i did 1 login with my personal account on a new login/authentication window that opens.
now i need to:
- go to the "PowerQuery button" on home menu \ Data Source settings \ 
- on each source (SP list, excel file or data lake), click edit permissions

- edit credencials and re-sign in as a different user

- and just here it appears the login/authentication window previously mentioned.

My question is: is this normal or I'm doing something wrong? All these steps? To resume, the fact that I'm using a service account online should bring all this re-login "mess"? Should I implement parameters, use my login in dev and use serviceaccount in uat/prod?

Thanks

[makima10]

Yes, this behavior is normal when switching between a personal and a service account in Power BI Desktop. To improve this, you can use parameterized authentication and set up structured environments. In Power Query, define parameters to distinguish between development and production stages. Use your personal account during development, and for UAT or production, configure the service account through those parameters. You can also use Power BI Gateway to manage credentials automatically. This setup avoids the need to manually switch logins and makes your workflow more efficient and secure.

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @RicardoV4,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? If so, please mark the helpful reply and accept it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

Thank you.

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @RicardoV4,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank you.

[RicardoV3]

Hello @rajendraongole1 , thanks for answering!

I don't have access to Power BI gateway. 
Can the my email account / service account be set as a parameter, so I would use my account in DEV and service account on UAT and PROD?
Is this just a parameter like the others? Do you know any web page on how can i do this?

Thanks!

[rajendraongole1]

Hi @RicardoV4 -Yes! You can use a parameter in Power BI to switch between your personal account in DEV and the service account in UAT/PROD. However, Power BI does not allow dynamic authentication parameters directly for cloud sources (like SharePoint, Excel, or Data Lake)

Since OAuth (Microsoft login) cannot be parameterized, a better approach is:

Use different Power BI Dataflows per environment (one with your login, one with the service account).
In Power BI Desktop, load data from the Dataflow instead of direct sources.
How It Works:
In Power BI Service, create two Dataflows:
DEV Dataflow → Uses your account.
PROD Dataflow → Uses the service account.
In Power BI Desktop:
Instead of connecting directly to SharePoint/Excel, connect to the Dataflow.
When publishing to UAT/PROD, change the Dataflow used.
👉 This way, Power BI Service handles authentication instead of Power BI Desktop.

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @RicardoV4  - Yes, what you're experiencing is normal behavior when switching between a personal account and a service account in Power BI Desktop, but it can be improved by implementing parameterized authentication and structured environments

Instead of hardcoding credentials or manually changing logins, define parameters in Power Query to distinguish between:
Development (Personal Account)
UAT/Production (Service Account)

For development: Use your personal account.

For deployment: Configure the service account and credentials via parameters or Power BI Gateway to avoid manual login changes.

[makima10]

Yes, this behavior is normal when switching between a personal and a service account in Power BI Desktop. To improve this, you can use parameterized authentication and set up structured environments. In Power Query, define parameters to distinguish between development and production stages. Use your personal account during development, and for UAT or production, configure the service account through those parameters. You can also use Power BI Gateway to manage credentials automatically. This setup avoids the need to manually switch logins and makes your workflow more efficient and secure.

[makima10]

Yes, this behavior is normal when switching between a personal and a service account in Power BI Desktop. To improve this, you can use parameterized authentication and set up structured environments. In Power Query, define parameters to distinguish between development and production stages. Use your personal account during development, and for UAT or production, configure the service account through those parameters. You can also use Power BI Gateway to manage credentials automatically. This setup avoids the need to manually switch logins and makes your workflow more efficient and secure.