What exactly happens during incremental refresh in Power BI? Does it delete and reload the last X da

[manoj_0911]

What exactly happens during incremental refresh in Power BI? Does it delete and reload the last X days of data?

Hi everyone,

I'm using incremental refresh in Power BI with a setup to refresh the last 7 days of data.

I want to confirm what exactly happens during the refresh process. Specifically:

Does Power BI remove the existing last 7 days of data and re-import that 7-day window again during each refresh?

This is for a production IVR reporting use case, and data may get updated a few days later based on when the final call record is processed.

Would appreciate confirmation or any internal details on how the refresh works.

Thanks!

[HarishKM]

@manoj_0911 Hey,

During incremental refresh in Power BI, the process involves updating data for a specified period, such as the last 7 days. Specifically:

1) Power BI does not delete the last 7 days of data entirely. Instead, it checks for changes or new entries within this period and updates only those.

2) This allows for efficient data management, where only the latest changes are imported, rather than reloading the entire data set, ensuring fresh data without unnecessary duplication.

3) It helps maintain consistency and ensures any late-arriving data or changes to existing records within the specified period are accounted for in the dataset.

Thanks

Harish KM

If these steps help resolve your issue, your acknowledgment would be greatly appreciated.

[v-tejrama]

Hi @manoj_0911 ,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.

Hi, let me clarify how incremental refresh functions in Power BI. When you set it to refresh the last 7 days, Power BI doesn’t just append new data or update changed records. Instead, it completely reprocesses the data within that 7-day window during each refresh deleting and reloading everything in that range from the source. This ensures that any updates, late entries, or corrections within those 7 days are always included.

Data older than 7 days stays as is and isn’t queried again, which optimizes refresh efficiency. For your IVR reporting scenario, if call records are updated or finalized a few days after the fact, refreshing the last 7 days means those changes are always captured, since Power BI reloads that entire time frame every refresh.

Thank you,

Tejaswi.

[manoj_0911]

is there any proof in microsoft documentation about this please

[v-tejrama · Accepted solution]

Hi again @manoj_0911 , 

Yes, this process is clearly mentioned in Microsoft’s official documentation. In Power BI, when you set up incremental refresh, it doesn't just add new data or update the existing records. Instead, it refreshes the entire data in the selected range (for example, the last 7 days) every time the refresh happens. So, the data from that period is deleted and completely reloaded from the source, making sure any late updates or corrections are captured.

Data that is older than the selected range (like more than 7 days) is not refreshed, which helps in making the process faster and more efficient.

You can check Microsoft’s official documentation here:
👉 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/incremental-refresh-overview

Thank you.

[v-tejrama]

Hi @manoj_0911 ,

I hope the above details help you fix the issue. If you still have any questions or need more help, feel free to reach out. We’re always here to support you.

Thank you.

[v-tejrama]

Hi @manoj_0911 ,

I wanted to follow up and see if you had a chance to review the information shared. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out.

Thank you.

[v-tejrama]

Hi @manoj_0911 ,

I hope the information provided above assists you in resolving the issue. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you and will be happy to help with any further assistance you may need.

Thank you.

[Royel]

Hi @manoj_0911  check this article, well explained about incremental refresh 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/incremental-refresh-overview

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[bhanu_gautam]

@manoj_0911 The process does not simply delete and reload the last X days of data. Instead, it processes changes in the underlying data after the last refresh and appends that data to the table. 

Initial Full Refresh: The first time you set up and run an incremental refresh, Power BI performs a full refresh of the data for the entire period specified.

Subsequent Incremental Refreshes: For each subsequent refresh, Power BI:

Identifies the changes in the data since the last refresh.
Loads only the new or updated data for the specified period (e.g., the last 7 days).
Appends this new or updated data to the existing dataset without reloading the entire dataset.
This approach ensures that only the data that has changed or been added since the last refresh is processed, which can significantly reduce the time and resources required for the refresh.

For your production IVR reporting use case, this means that Power BI will update the data for the last 7 days based on any new or modified records, without re-importing the entire 7-day window each time.