Usage Metrics report

[Anonymous]

Hi

The usage report seems to have the last month data as default. Is there a way that I can track performance month by month therefore change the date range to go futher back to compared current report versus data from September 2024?

I've edited in service and also linked to the systematic model in deskstop but unable to alter the date range from the existing 30days rolling?

Thanks

[cbschley]

We took a different approach than listed as the solution to this problem. We use Microsoft Fabric to automatically scrape the data from the standard Microsoft usage report. It saves the data to a semantic model in Fabric, then we built a brand new usage dashboard using it. The job runs daily, effectively taking the prior-day data and appending it to our dataset. This will allow you to collect all of history, and not just the last 30 days. Note that during the initial run, you will only get the last 30 days, but over time that will give you the full history (up to 30 days prior to the initial run). 

[powerbitogo]

Sounds like what I would like to set up for my usage metric reports. Are you able to provide some helpful steps how i could go about achieving what you have done pls?

Many thanks in advance.

[Asma-k]

Hi, I am also trying to store data in fabric. but, i am not able to fetch data through APIs. each time i get authentication error. I am not an admin and have a pro license. First, i created a service principle through which i am able to get auth token but when i try to connect to any end point, i get the error like: 401 Client Error: Unauthorized for url: https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/reports
I am not able to get any admin access. There are multiple tanents from where I need to fetch the usage metrics data. How to pass through authentication?

Can you share any tutorial or guidance you have followed which explains each step to complete the data fetching process? 
Or just guide me how you did it?

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous - Power BI Service’s usage metrics reports are typically limited to the past 30 days by default, which can be restrictive for month-over-month or long-term performance tracking. 

Export Usage Metrics to a Separate Report: If you need historical data beyond the default 30 days, you can create a custom Power BI report. To do this:

• Export the usage metrics data to Excel or CSV format.
• Regularly save this data (e.g., monthly) to keep a longer record of usage history.
• Import these exported files into Power BI Desktop and create a custom report to visualize trends over multiple months.
• Connect to the Power BI Admin API: For more advanced solutions, Power BI’s Admin API provides access to comprehensive usage metrics with the ability to specify longer date ranges. You can use the Power BI REST API to pull data and create a custom report in Power BI Desktop that can capture usage over extended periods. To set this up:
  • Use the Power BI REST API (specifically the event API) to query for user activity logs.
  • Store the retrieved data in a database or data storage solution.
  • Connect Power BI to this database to create custom usage and performance reports.

If your organization has Power BI Premium, you may have additional options for data retention. Premium workspaces can provide more flexibility in creating usage reports with extended date ranges, depending on your licensing level.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-usage-metrics

Reports - REST API (Power BI Power BI REST APIs) | Microsoft Learn

[andyclap]

As asma-k says it would be great to see a sample tutorial or guide for doing this automatially - it's going to be a common ask, and can be quite fiddly to set up.
30 days is not much use for our reporting which will have end of month, end of quarter and annual reports. There's not really oodles of data anyway - I'd much rather be able to say I want to keep 2 years of data.