Urgent help in Power BI Service: Data source credentials missing + Google Sheets CSV not refreshing

[HusnaPowerBI]

I am building a Power BI report in Power BI Desktop using two different data sources: a Google Sheets file accessed through a public CSV export URL, and a website that provides data in JSON format. The JSON source refreshes correctly in Power BI Desktop, but in Power BI Service it fails and reports that data source credentials are missing. This is confusing because in Desktop the authentication method is set to Anonymous with no privacy level, so I expected the same setup to work in the Service.

My second issue concerns the Google Sheets CSV file. Even though the Google Sheet contains updated data all the way up to today, Power BI Desktop only loads data up to week 10 and does not bring in any new rows when I refresh. The same problem occurs in Power BI Service. I have tried creating a completely new report and connecting to the same CSV export URL, but it still does not load the updated data. The only time the new data appears is when I download the CSV file locally and import it from my computer, but the web version does not update at all. Power BI Service also asks for credentials for this source, even though Desktop shows that it uses Anonymous authentication.

I would appreciate help understanding why the Google Sheets CSV URL does not refresh with new data, why Power BI Service keeps asking for credentials for both sources, and whether I need a different authentication setup for either the Google Sheets file or the JSON endpoint. Thank you in advance for any guidance.

[cengizhanarslan]

Step 1) Go to your workspace in Power BI Service → find your semantic model → Settings

Step 2) Data source credentials → click Edit credentials next to each source → set Authentication method to Anonymous → Privacy level to None (or Public) → Save

[Odet_Maimoni]

Two quick fixes:

1. JSON (works in Desktop, fails in Service)

Service is picky with “Anonymous”.

Go to Dataset Settings → Data source credentials  → Set to Public  

If still failing, switch to base URL + RelativePath:

Web.Contents(

    "https://api.website.com",

    [RelativePath = "endpoint"]

)

2. Google Sheets not updating

This is caching 99% of the time.

Make sure you use export URL (not share link):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/{ID}/export?format=csv&gid={GID}

Add cache breaker:

&t=" & DateTime.LocalNow()

Also verify sheet is published to web and no filters hiding rows

Odet Maimoni  

BI Engineer | Microsoft MVP  

I share practical Power BI tips on YouTube

[HusnaPowerBI]

Thanks for the reply. I tried adding the cache breaker, but unfortunately it didn’t solve the issue. I do understand that it’s likely a caching problem.
Is it possible to clear the cache in Power BI instead and would that have any impact on my transformed data?

[v-achippa · Accepted solution]

Hi @HusnaPowerBI,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

Thank you @Odet_Maimoni and @cengizhanarslan for the prompt response.

Thank you for the response. Clearing cache in power bi desktop is completely safe and will not impact your transformed data, it only clears the local preview cache. Please follow below steps:

File --> Options and settings --> Options --> Data Load --> Clear cache.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[v-achippa]

Hi @HusnaPowerBI,

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution I have provided for the issue worked? or let us know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[v-achippa]

Hi @HusnaPowerBI,

We wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution I have provided for the issue worked? or let us know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa