What is Scheduled Refresh in Power BI?

Constantly exporting data and manually updating your reports is a guaranteed way to fall behind. To keep your dashboards relevant, you need a way to refresh them automatically. This is where Power BI's scheduled refresh feature comes in, allowing you to update your datasets without lifting a finger. This article walks you through exactly what scheduled refresh is, how to set it up step-by-step, and how to troubleshoot common issues you might run into.

Understanding Data Refresh in Power BI

Before setting up a schedule, it's helpful to know how Power BI handles data in the first place. When you connect to a data source, you generally have three main options, and your choice impacts how refreshing works.

• Import Mode: This is the most common method. Power BI takes a copy, or a snapshot, of your data and stores it within the .PBIX file. This allows for super-fast performance because you’re working with a highly compressed, cached version of the data. The trade-off is that the data becomes static, it won't change unless you refresh it and import a new snapshot. Scheduled refresh is designed specifically for datasets in Import Mode.
• DirectQuery: Instead of importing a copy, DirectQuery keeps the data at its original source. When you interact with a report, Power BI sends a query directly to the source and pulls in the live data. This is great for massive datasets or when you need real-time information, but it can be slower and limits some Power Query transformations.
• Live Connection: This is similar to DirectQuery but is specifically used for connecting to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), Azure Analysis Services (AAS), or Power BI datasets. It also leaves the data at the source, giving you a live view without importing it.

For the rest of this guide, we'll be focusing on Import Mode, as that’s what scheduled refresh is all about: automatically updating that imported data snapshot.

What Exactly is Scheduled Refresh?

Scheduled refresh is an automated process within the Power BI Service (the online version of Power BI) that pulls the latest data from your original data sources into your Power BI dataset. Instead of you having to open Power BI Desktop and click the "Refresh" button every morning, you can tell the Power BI Service to do it for you at specific times, like every day at 7 AM before your team gets to work.

Why is this so important?

• Time-Saving Automation: It eliminates the monotonous, manual task of updating reports. Set it up once, and let it run in the background.
• Consistent and Timely Data: It ensures that everyone viewing the report is looking at the most current data available, leading to better, more informed decisions.
• Reliability: It removes the risk of someone forgetting to perform a manual refresh, ensuring your reports are always up-to-date for that critical weekly meeting.

How to Set Up Your First Scheduled Refresh

Getting your first scheduled refresh running involves a few simple steps in the Power BI Service. Before we jump in, there's one key component you might need: a data gateway.

Prerequisite: The On-Premises Data Gateway

If your data source lives on-premises - meaning it’s on a local computer or a server within your company's network (like an Excel file on your desktop or a local SQL Server) - the Power BI Service in the cloud needs a secure way to reach it. That's what the On-Premises Data Gateway is for.

Think of it as a secure bridge or tunnel. You install this small piece of software on a computer that is always on and connected to your network. It securely listens for refresh requests from the Power BI Service, fetches the data from your local source, and sends it back to the cloud to update your dataset.

If all your data sources are already in the cloud (like SharePoint, Azure SQL Database, or Google Analytics), you can skip this step and won't need a gateway.

Step-by-Step Configuration Guide

Ready to automate? Here’s how you can set it up.

1. Publish Your Report to the Power BI Service First, you need to publish your completed report from Power BI Desktop. Just click the "Publish" button on the Home ribbon, choose a workspace, and wait for it to upload.

2. Find Your Dataset in the Power BI Service Log in to app.powerbi.com and navigate to the workspace where you published your report. In your workspace, you’ll see the report itself and a separate dataset. These often share the same name. We need to configure the dataset, not the report. Find your dataset, click the three-dot menu (...) next to its name, and select Settings.

3. Configure Data Source Credentials In the Settings screen, you'll see a section for "Data source credentials." The Power BI Service needs your permission to access the underlying data source. Click "Edit credentials" and provide the necessary login information, just as you did in Power BI Desktop. You may need to use an authentication method like a username/password for a database or select an OAuth2 option for a cloud service.

4. Connect Your Gateway (If Needed) If you're using on-premises data sources, you’ll see a "Gateway connection" section. Here, you'll map your data source to the gateway you have installed and configured. This tells Power BI which "bridge" to use to reach your data. If you don't see this section, it means Power BI has detected that all your sources are in the cloud.

5. Set Your Refresh Schedule Now for the main event! Scroll down to the "Scheduled refresh" section and expand it.

• Toggle "Keep your data up to date" to On.
• For Refresh frequency, choose "Daily" or "Weekly."
• Select your Time zone. This is crucial to ensure refreshes happen when you expect them to.
• Under Time, click "Add another time" to specify when you want the refresh to run. You can add multiple slots throughout the day.

6. Set Up Failure Notifications Finally, check the box under "Send refresh failure notifications." By default, these emails go to you, the dataset owner. This is an essential step - if something goes wrong with the refresh, you'll be the first to know and can fix it quickly.

That's it! Save your settings, and Power BI will now handle the updates for you automatically.

Power BI Pro vs. Premium Refresh Schedules

The number of automated refreshes you can schedule depends on the type of Power BI capacity your workspace is in.

• Power BI Pro: If you are on a standard Pro license, you can schedule up to 8 refreshes per day per dataset. Time slots must be on the hour or half-hour (e.g., 7:00 AM, 7:30 AM).
• Power BI Premium: If your workspace is in a Premium capacity, you get more flexibility. You can schedule up to 48 refreshes per day per dataset. The time slots don't have to be on the hour/half-hour and can be scheduled as frequently as every minute (though that’s rarely necessary). Premium also offers advanced features like Incremental Refresh, which is a more efficient way to update very large datasets by only refreshing the data that has changed.

Troubleshooting Common Scheduled Refresh Issues

Sometimes, an automated process hits a snag. Here are a few of the most common refresh errors and how to fix them.

1. Gateway is Offline or Not Reachable

The symptom: You get a failure notification mentioning the gateway is offline or unavailable. The fix: This is a common issue for on-premises sources. The machine running the gateway might have been turned off, lost internet connection, or the gateway software might have crashed. Remote into the gateway machine, make sure it's running, and check that the "On-premises data gateway" service is active in the Windows Services app. Restarting the service often solves the problem.

2. Data Source Credentials Invalid

The symptom: The error message says something like "The credentials provided for the user source are invalid." The fix: This usually happens when a password for your data source has expired or changed. Go back to your dataset's Settings > Data source credentials and re-enter the correct, up-to-date login information.

3. Data Source Schema Changes

The symptom: The refresh fails with an error like, "The column '[Column Name]' of the table '[Table Name]' was not found." The fix: This error means that the structure of your source data has changed since you last built the report. Someone may have deleted or renamed a column in the source Excel file or database table. To fix this, open the report in Power BI Desktop, refresh it there (it will likely show you the same error), fix the broken steps in the Power Query Editor, and then republish the report.

4. Refresh Timed Out

The symptom: The refresh failed because it took too long to complete. The fix: Datasets in a shared (Pro) capacity have a two-hour time limit per refresh, while Premium datasets can run for up to five hours. If your refresh is timing out, it usually means your Power Query transformations are too complex or the source database is very slow. The best solution is to optimize your model in Power BI Desktop by filtering out unnecessary rows, removing unneeded columns, and trying to pre-aggregate data at the source if possible before bringing it into Power BI.

Final Thoughts

Automating your data updates with scheduled refresh is a fundamental skill for any Power BI user. It transforms your reports from static snapshots into reliable, up-to-date resources that your team can trust for making timely decisions. By configuring your data sources correctly and setting a schedule, you can save valuable time and eliminate manual drudgery from your workflow.

For teams that want to avoid the complexities of managing gateways, refresh schedules, and different data connections, new tools are streamlining this entire process. At Graphed, we connect directly to your various marketing and sales platforms and keep your dashboards updated in real-time automatically. There's no need to configure schedules or worry about timeouts, just ask for a dashboard, and we build it and keep the data fresh for you, so your insights are always current and ready when you need them.