Switching PowerBI service data model connection in excel

[Rigensis]

Hi,

We recently changed PowerBI tenant.

There are some user made excel files that connect to the old Tenant data models and I would like to switch them over to use data models from the new Tenant.

The issue is that when trying to create a connection in the existing excel with the data model, it gives me a preview of the data right before I make the connection, but then shows that connection could not be made.

The user accounts related to each tenant are different, so I change the account with which I'm logged into excel before connecting to the new source.

Do you know what could be the cause of the new connection not establishing?

Example:

1) I choose the following connection option:

2) On the right hand side I then see the data models in the new tenant available to my user

3) I choose the option of 'Insert table', select one table from the data model and see it in preview mode, this leads me to believe I have access to the data.

4) I click on 'Insert Table' and get the following error

[v-sgandrathi · Accepted solution]

Hi @Rigensis,

After trying the every trouble shooting steps if still faces the same issue then please consider raising a support ticket for further assistance.

To raise a support ticket for Fabric and Power BI, kindly follow the steps outlined in the following guide:

How to create a Fabric and Power BI Support ticket - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If this post helps, please give us Kudos and consider marking it Accept as solution to assist other members in finding it more easily.

Thank you for being a part of Microsoft Fabric Community Forum!

[v-csrikanth]

Hi @Rigensis 

We are following up once again regarding your query. Could you please confirm if the issue has been resolved through the support ticket with Microsoft?

If the issue has been resolved, we kindly request you to share the resolution or key insights here to help others in the community. If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread.

Should you need further assistance in the future, we encourage you to reach out via the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum and create a new thread. We’ll be happy to help.

Thank you for your understanding and participation.

Best Regards,
Cheri Srikanth

[v-sgandrathi]

Hi @Rigensis,
Thanks for using Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

You are correct in suspecting that the issue is related to the account through which the data is connecting to Power BI. Here are the workarounds which might assist you in resloving the issue:

Please log in with the new tenant's account in Excel and navigate to Get Data From Power Platform > From Power BI. Attempt to reconnect to the new dataset and insert the table.

Open Windows Credential Manager (Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager) and remove any entries related to Power BI.

If the data models in the new tenant differ in structure from the old tenant, this may cause connection issues. Ensure the data models are compatible.

Excel may cache credentials and connection details. Clear any existing data connections or cached credentials in Excel to reset the connection process.

If this solution worked for you, kindly mark it as Accept as Solution and feel free to give a Kudos, it would be much appreciated!

Thank you.

[Rigensis]

Hi,

I cleared any powerBI related credentials from Windows Credential Manager.

Then opened up the excel file in question (which has connection to the old Tenant data model), switched the user with which I'm logged into excel to the one related to the new tenant.

Then went into excel settings and deleted cache data.

Unfortunately still the old connections are able to refresh, and the new ones cannot be established.

[v-sgandrathi · Accepted solution]

Hi @Rigensis,

After trying the every trouble shooting steps if still faces the same issue then please consider raising a support ticket for further assistance.

To raise a support ticket for Fabric and Power BI, kindly follow the steps outlined in the following guide:

How to create a Fabric and Power BI Support ticket - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If this post helps, please give us Kudos and consider marking it Accept as solution to assist other members in finding it more easily.

Thank you for being a part of Microsoft Fabric Community Forum!

[v-sgandrathi]

Hi @Rigensis,

Could you please confirm if the issue has been resolved after raising a support case? If a solution has been found, it would be greatly appreciated if you could share your insights with the community. This would be helpful for other members who may encounter similar issues.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance.

Thank you.

[Rigensis · Accepted solution]

The solution for our company was that not only we were changing the tenant for PBI, but for the whole Microsoft ecosystem as well. And once a person's laptop was reprogrammed from company IT admins to work on the new tenant active directory by default, then the excel files also started working fine.

On one hand it makes sense, switching completely to the new tenant everywhere has solved the issue, but on the other hand a bit weird that by explicitly logging into excel with the new tenant did not entirely connect it to the PBI data from the new tenant. At the end of the day a full laptop user reboot and refactor to prompt login with the new tenant when starting up the machine was what solved the issue.

[Rigensis]

@Deku Tried that approach, but get the same error if going the originally shown way.

I'm thinking it might be related to the account through which the data is connecting to. Because even if I change the account with which I'm logged in excel, it is still possible to refresh the old data model connections, while not being able to finalize the connection to the new ones.

[Deku]

If these are existing excels. Try clicking on "existing connection" on the far right below and see if you can swap over there