Unable to update connection credentials. The on-premises data gateway's service account failed...

[F_Reh]

Good Afternoon,

Kindly advise to help me get to the bottom of what's going on here:

Its linked to SQL Server connection(s) I have in this section:

It was working previously...Its just recently my Windows login password was forced to be changed which affected all the connections..This issue is bound to re-occur after anytime my password changes.

What is the best solution ? Would switching to a Service Account be useful here ?

Kind Regards

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi F_Reh,

We are following up to see if your query has been resolved. Should you have identified a solution, we kindly request you to share it with the community to assist others facing similar issues.

If our response was helpful, please mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos, as this helps the broader community.

Thank you.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi F_Reh,

We wanted to check in regarding your query, as we have not heard back from you. If you have resolved the issue, sharing the solution with the community would be greatly appreciated and could help others encountering similar challenges.

If you found our response useful, kindly mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos to guide other members.

Thank you.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi F_Reh,

We have not received a response from you regarding the query and were following up to check if you have found a resolution. If you have identified a solution, we kindly request you to share it with the community, as it may be helpful to others facing a similar issue.

If you find the response helpful, please mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos, as this will help other members with similar queries.

Thank you.

[JMLyle]

The "Gateway Service Account" that was mentioned runs the gateway service (PBIEgwService) on the server and has nothing to do with the connections. 

For SQL, the easiest solution is to have a SQL login created that has access to the data, and use that credential when you create the gateway connection. In that case, thew account is essentially a service account for that specific connection, but not a service account for running the gateway service.

[v-pnaroju-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi F_Reh,

Thank you for your follow-up.

To clarify, when I mentioned "Change Account" in Step 2, I was referring to the Windows service account that operates the On-premises Data Gateway, and not your Power BI admin email or SQL Server connection credentials. This action must be performed on the server or machine where the gateway is installed, using the On-premises Data Gateway application.

Kindly follow the steps mentioned below to change the Gateway Service Account:

1. Open the On-premises Data Gateway application on the machine where it is installed.
2. Navigate to Service Settings and click on "Change Account".
3. Enter the domain service account credentials (for example, DOMAIN\GatewayService) which should be provisioned with a non-expiring password.

Please refer to the following link for more detailed information:
Change the on-premises data gateway service account | Microsoft Learn

Please note that this procedure does not affect your Power BI administrator account. That account continues to be responsible for publishing and managing reports. The service account is used solely to run the gateway and securely connect to on-premises resources such as SQL Server. Using a service account ensures a stable and uninterrupted connection, even after personal password changes.

If you find our response helpful, kindly mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos. This will help other community members encountering similar queries.

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.

Thank you.

[F_Reh]

Thanks. Sorry I  am unable to locate the elements in step 2 on the Power BI Service. 

2.Open the On-premises Data Gateway application, navigate to Service Settings, and then select Change Account. Configure the newly created service account here.

I am only seeing:

When you say "Change Account", I assume that is with respect to the SQL Server connection only (i.e changing Windows account to a Service account). As stated, previously my Windows account was successfully connecting to the SQL Data sources (from within the Power BI Account which itself is associated with a dedicated admin Power BI E-mail)...

Or is step 2 going further in the sense of removing the dedicated admin e-mail account linked to this Power BI (and using the Service Account instead) ? Kindly clarify...

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi @F_Reh,

We sincerely appreciate your enquiry through the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

Based on my understanding, the issue arises because Power BI attempts to authenticate the SQL Server data source using your Windows credentials. However, since your Windows password was recently changed, the saved credentials used in the gateway connection have become invalid.As you are using your personal Windows login, each time your password changes, the data source connection fails until the credentials are manually updated.
To avoid such recurring failures, the recommended solution is to use a dedicated service account.

Kindly follow the steps mentioned below, which might help resolve this issue:

1. Create a Service Account and request your IT team to provision a domain account with the “password never expires” setting.
2. Open the On-premises Data Gateway application, navigate to Service Settings, and then select Change Account. Configure the newly created service account here.
3. Update the Data Source Credentials in Power BI by accessing Power BI Service, followed by Manage Gateways. Select the relevant data source and enter the service account credentials.

By using a service account, you will disconnect the data connections from individual user credentials, thereby ensuring stable and uninterrupted access even when personal credentials are changed.

If you find our response helpful, kindly mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos. This will assist other community members facing similar issues.
Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric Community.

Thank you.