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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →To keep a Power BI report current automatically, schedule a refresh for the semantic model that supplies its data in Power BI Service. In the workspace, select the model and choose Refresh > Schedule refresh. Before switching the schedule on, confirm that its sources can be reached, credentials are valid, and any required gateway is online and mapped. If a refresh fails, start with the model’s refresh history and follow the error message.
What automatic refresh updates in Power BI
For an imported model, scheduled refresh reloads data into the semantic model in Power BI Service. Reports and dashboards that use that model then reflect the refreshed data. The schedule belongs to the model, not to an individual report visual. Refreshing a PBIX file in Power BI Desktop is a local action; it does not set up a service-side schedule. See Microsoft’s scheduled refresh documentation and Power BI data refresh overview.
Automatic page refresh is a separate feature: it periodically refreshes a report page using DirectQuery. It is not the way to refresh imported model data, and Import mode does not support automatic page refresh. Details and limitations are in Microsoft’s Automatic Page Refresh documentation.
Set up a scheduled refresh
- Publish the model and open its workspace. In Power BI Service, locate the semantic model used by the report.
- Open its schedule. Select the model, then choose Refresh > Schedule refresh.
- Check source connectivity. Confirm each source supports refresh in the service. A cloud source may connect directly; a source the service cannot reach over a direct network connection needs a suitable gateway.
- Verify credentials and gateway mapping. Check Data source credentials for personal or direct connections. For an enterprise on-premises gateway, ask its administrator to confirm the source credentials and mapping.
- Configure the schedule. Turn on Configure a refresh schedule, choose the available frequency and time slots, and apply the settings. Keep failure notifications enabled so you are alerted if an attempt fails.
- Test on demand if useful. Use Refresh now to check the connection and source configuration. An on-demand refresh does not change the next scheduled time.
Power BI’s documented daily ceiling is up to 8 scheduled refreshes per day for Pro and up to 48 for PPU and supported Premium or Fabric capacities. These are product limits; manual and API-triggered refreshes also use resources. Actual availability and performance can depend on capacity and model conditions. Consult Microsoft’s current schedule guidance for the service’s applicable limits.
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A scheduled time is not an exact start-time guarantee. Microsoft says a run targets a start within 15 minutes of its slot, may begin up to five minutes early, and can be delayed by as much as one hour if resources are unavailable.
Troubleshoot a failed refresh using its history
- Read the failed attempt. Select the semantic model and choose Refresh > Refresh history. Note the status, start time, duration, and error message. Use that message to decide what to check instead of changing settings at random. Microsoft’s data refresh overview describes refresh history and warnings.
- Check the gateway and source mapping. In the model settings, inspect Gateway and cloud connections. Confirm the required gateway is online, the source is mapped to it, and the gateway version is current. Gateway administrators can enable additional logging and export logs when investigating a reproducible issue; see Microsoft’s gateway troubleshooting guidance.
- Update credentials if the error points to authentication. A changed or expired password, or a sign-out, can invalidate saved credentials. Update credentials in model settings for personal or direct connections. If credentials are managed on an enterprise gateway, ask its administrator to check them there.
- Check source support and query behavior. Unsupported sources or dynamic source patterns may prevent service refresh. If an incremental refresh is slow, investigate query folding and source query timeouts; incremental refresh relies on suitable model and source design to limit later processing. Microsoft documents these issues in refresh troubleshooting scenarios and incremental refresh troubleshooting.
- Review warnings, not only failures. A refresh can complete with warnings while calculations or affected fields still return errors or blanks. Check the warning details in history rather than treating “Completed” as proof that every report result is correct.
When a schedule is disabled or paused
Power BI disables a schedule after four consecutive failures or an unrecoverable configuration error, such as invalid or expired credentials. Fix the underlying problem first, then return to Refresh > Schedule refresh, switch the schedule back on, and apply it. Microsoft’s scheduled refresh guidance documents the disable conditions; its refresh troubleshooting scenarios also cover recovery.
Inactivity can also pause scheduled refresh: Microsoft documents a pause after two months without anyone visiting a report or dashboard built on the model. Visit a related report or dashboard, then check the model’s schedule and re-enable it if necessary.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Choose the refresh approach that matches the model
| Approach | What it refreshes | Best fit and key constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Import with scheduled refresh | Reloads data into the semantic model on a service schedule. | Use when the model imports data and periodic updates meet the freshness need. Source support, credentials, gateway connectivity, capacity, and query design can all affect refresh. |
| DirectQuery with automatic page refresh | Refreshes a report page at an interval by querying the source. | Use for the separate DirectQuery page-refresh scenario; workspace or capacity settings apply. It is not an Import-model refresh mechanism. See Microsoft’s page-refresh documentation. |
Capacity affects the documented scheduled-refresh frequency, but moving to a higher tier alone does not resolve bad credentials, a disconnected gateway, an unsupported source, or problematic queries. Diagnose those dependencies from the refresh history and model configuration.
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