Business Data Analytics & Advanced Excel · Intermediate level

Intermediate level · Module 5: Report Operations and Governance · Lesson 2 of 3

Refresh and Troubleshooting

Keep reports current with scheduled refresh and fix refresh failures quickly.

In this lesson you will

  • Plan refresh schedules and gateways
  • Troubleshoot refresh failures

Key concepts

scheduled refreshon-premises data gatewayrefresh historyfailure notifications

The lesson

Scheduled refresh updates data in the service automatically. Cloud sources refresh directly; files and databases on local computers need an on-premises data gateway that is switched on and connected.

When refresh fails, read the refresh history: common causes are changed sources, expired credentials and the gateway being offline — likely during power cuts.

Set failure notifications, show the last refresh date on every report and agree what happens when data is late.

Step by step

  1. Plan the refresh schedule.
  2. Decide whether a gateway is needed.
  3. Simulate a refresh failure and fix it.
  4. Add a last-refreshed date to the report.
Troubleshooting tree

Why didn't my Power BI report refresh?

A path through the most common refresh failures and their fixes.

Does the refresh history show a credentials or sign-in error?
  • Yes
    Update the data source credentials in the dataset settings; use an account that will not expire when a person leaves.
  • No
    Is the source a file or database on a local computer or network?
    • Yes
      Is the on-premises data gateway online?
      • Yes
        Check the source still exists at the same path with the same sheet and column names; fix the Power Query step that fails.
      • No
        Restart the gateway machine or service (and check power and internet), then refresh again. Consider a cloud location for the files.
    • No
      Check for renamed columns or sheets in the cloud source, then open the report in Power BI Desktop and refresh to see the failing step.

Notes

Turn on failure notifications and show the last-refreshed time on every page, so stale data is noticed before decisions are made.

Practice activity

Complete the refresh plan and the failure simulation.

Expected result: A realistic refresh plan and a fixed simulated failure.

Check your understanding

  1. When is an on-premises data gateway needed?

    Show answer

    When data sources are on local computers or networks rather than in the cloud.

  2. Why show the last refresh date on reports?

    Show answer

    So users know how current the data is.

Taught live by an instructor — online or in person. Free course lessons are for self-study and do not lead to a certificate — see registration options.