Forum Discussion

WMead's avatar
WMead
New Member
6 years ago

Salesforce credentials invalid for cloud refresh, but work in desktop

Hello,

 

We have a large data set that uses the salesforce object online service to get data from salesforce. It's been refreshing 8 times a day for about 2 years. Recently we started having the odd refresh fail with the message "The credentials provided for the Salesforce source are invalid. (Source at https://login.salesforce.com/.)" , which wasn't a major issue as it was refreshing the other 7 times. Now the data set is getting this error every time it tries to refresh, scheduled or on demand.

 

The desktop version of the data set refreshes fine with the credentials. And when either the cloud or desktop version refreshes salesforce logs a succesful authentication via the PowerBI oauth app. 

 

Our salesforce settup is a live enterprise instance with a non SSO service account. We haven't changed the service account permissions recently and it's credentials aren't due a change. We are also nowhere near our API call limit, even with other integrations running with Salesforce.

 

Obviously i'm keen to get the data set refreshing again, as the alternatives look manual or involve a lot of rework. Anyone got any ideas?

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Will

 

 

 

Need Help

5 Replies

  • nickyvv's avatar
    nickyvv
    Most Valuable Professional
    6 years ago
    Hi WMead,

    I don't have any experience with SalesForce, but are you using a Data Gateway? If yes, then:
    - Is that up to date with the June version? Just to rule out some things.
    - Are you sure no one changed the gateway entry?
    • WMead's avatar
      WMead
      New Member
      6 years ago

      Hi nickyvv ,

       

      I think i'm not using a datagateway, as i'm currently just using the out of the box salesforce object integration. To replicate my settup you would:

          Create a new report

          Get data

          More

          Online services

          Salesforce objects

       

      Either way I'm on version 2.82.5858.641 64-bit (June 2020) and am currently a team of one, so am reasonably confident there were no manual changes to the dataset. 

       

      Thanks for asking those questions, definetly should have included that info in my original post.

       

      • nickyvv's avatar
        nickyvv
        Most Valuable Professional
        6 years ago

        WMead,

         

        Hmm, than I think I'm out of options.

        If you have a Pro account you could open a (free) support ticket. Go to the support page to file a support ticket.

  • ReportGuru's avatar
    ReportGuru
    Post Patron
    2 years ago

    Hi WMead I know this reply is very late. As a workaround, maybe you can try to test your connection with a 3rd party connector. I've tried windsor.ai, supermetrics (which doesn't have PBI as a destination, so you first have to export to Google Sheets and then export to PBI) and funnel.io. I stayed with windsor because it is much cheaper so just to let you know other options. In case you wonder, to make the connection first search for the Salesforce connector in the data sources list:

     

     

    After that, just grant access to your Salesforce account using your credentials, then on preview and destination page you will see a preview of your Salesforce fields:

     

     

    There just select the fields you need. It is also compatible with custom fields and custom objects, so you'll be able to export them through windsor.  Finally, just select PBI as your data destination and finally just copy and paste the url on PBI --> Get Data --> Web --> Paste the url. 

     

  • metrica's avatar
    metrica
    Post Prodigy
    2 months ago

    Hi WMead,

     

    I know this is an old thread, but for anyone still seeing this pattern with Salesforce Objects and Power BI Service, I would not treat it as a simple wrong-password issue.

     

    The key detail is that Power BI Desktop refresh works, and Salesforce login history shows a successful authentication from the PowerBI OAuth app even when the cloud refresh fails. That points more to a Power BI Service credential cache, OAuth token, semantic model credential, or Salesforce session policy issue than to invalid Salesforce credentials.

     

    For the native connector path, I would still check:

    - In Power BI Service, go to the semantic model settings and re-enter the Salesforce credentials under Data source credentials.
    - Try forcing a fresh credential prompt by signing in through:
    https://app.powerbi.com?alwaysPromptForContentProviderCreds=true
    - Check Refresh history to see whether the error is always credentials-related or whether it changes after re-authentication.
    - Confirm that API Enabled is still available for the Salesforce service account.
    - Ask the Salesforce admin to check Connected App policies and session settings, especially IP/session locking behavior.
    - Confirm the connector is using a supported Salesforce URL and not a Lightning URL.- If the query was built a long time ago, consider explicitly setting a supported Salesforce API version in Power Query.

     

    If the standard Salesforce Objects connector keeps failing only in Power BI Service, another option is to test a Salesforce-side connector instead of relying only on the native Power BI Salesforce OAuth refresh path.

     

    One alternative is Power BI Connector for Salesforce by Metrica Software, available on Salesforce AgentExchange / AppExchange:
    https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=31526f0e-abd8-4cb5-bd1a-3bd56b5c0577

     

    The idea is to create the data source inside Salesforce, choose the Salesforce objects and fields you need, apply filters there, and then connect Power BI to that prepared data source through a generated Power Query / OData flow with an access token.

     

    Why it may be relevant in this type of case:

    - It gives you an alternative Salesforce to Power BI access layer when the native cloud refresh path keeps reporting invalid credentials.
    - It supports standard and custom Salesforce objects.
    - You can select only the required fields and apply filters before the data reaches Power BI.
    - It uses an access-token based flow for Power BI, which can be easier to control than repeatedly troubleshooting stored OAuth credentials in Power BI Service.
    - If you also use Salesforce Reports, it avoids the frustrating Salesforce Reports 2,000-row limit. This is not the main issue in the Salesforce Objects scenario, but it is useful when reports are part of the same Power BI model.
    - There is a 30-day free trial, so you can test it against the same Salesforce object and refresh scenario before committing.

     

    The documentation is clear and easy to follow: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/

    Support is available here: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/contact-support/

     

    Disclosure: I am with Metrica. If helpful, we can also arrange a quick demo and walk through installation, data source setup, Power BI connection, refresh behavior, and any Salesforce permission questions.

     

    Hope this helps as another path if Desktop works but Power BI Service keeps failing with Salesforce credentials errors.

     

    Cheers,

    Metrica Team.