What causes Access to the resource is forbidden?

The user whose credentials are stored for this dataset left the organization or had their account disabled. A service principal's Azure RBAC role assignment was removed or its permissions were reduced. The OAuth token for a SharePoint or OneDrive source expired or was revoked externally. Permissions were tightened on the data source after the credentials were originally saved in Power BI Service. Personal credentials are used instead of a service account — when that person's permissions change, all dependent datasets break

How do I fix Access to the resource is forbidden?

Navigate to the dataset in Power BI Service → Settings → Data source credentials.. Re-enter or re-authorize the credentials for the affected data source.. Switch from personal credentials to a dedicated service account that is not tied to an individual employee.. For Azure resources, verify the service principal or managed identity still holds the required RBAC role (e.g., 'Storage Blob Data Reader', 'SQL DB Reader').. For OAuth sources (SharePoint, OneDrive), click 'Sign in' to force a fresh token — externally revoked tokens require re-authorization.. Set up MetricSign alerts to catch credential failures immediately rather than discovering them when a report goes stale.

High severitycredentials

Power BI Refresh Error:
Access to the resource is forbidden

What does this error mean?

Power BI attempted to refresh using cached credentials that have since been revoked or restricted at the resource level. The connection itself succeeds but access to the specific data is denied by the source system.

Common causes

1The user whose credentials are stored for this dataset left the organization or had their account disabled
2A service principal's Azure RBAC role assignment was removed or its permissions were reduced
3The OAuth token for a SharePoint or OneDrive source expired or was revoked externally
4Permissions were tightened on the data source after the credentials were originally saved in Power BI Service
5Personal credentials are used instead of a service account — when that person's permissions change, all dependent datasets break

How to fix it

1Navigate to the dataset in Power BI Service → Settings → Data source credentials.
2Re-enter or re-authorize the credentials for the affected data source.
3Switch from personal credentials to a dedicated service account that is not tied to an individual employee.
4For Azure resources, verify the service principal or managed identity still holds the required RBAC role (e.g., 'Storage Blob Data Reader', 'SQL DB Reader').
5For OAuth sources (SharePoint, OneDrive), click 'Sign in' to force a fresh token — externally revoked tokens require re-authorization.
6Set up MetricSign alerts to catch credential failures immediately rather than discovering them when a report goes stale.

Frequently asked questions

Does this error affect all users or just the dataset owner?

All users — scheduled and manual refreshes run under the credentials stored in the dataset settings, not individual user accounts.

Can expired OAuth tokens cause this error?

Yes — if the data source uses OAuth (SharePoint, Dynamics 365, Azure), the token expires periodically and must be re-authorized by the dataset owner.

Will this error clear itself after I update the credentials?

Yes — once you re-enter valid credentials in the dataset settings, the next refresh (scheduled or triggered manually) will succeed.

How do I know which dataset is using which credentials?

Go to Power BI Service → Settings → Datasets → Data source credentials for the affected dataset. Each connection shows the credential type and the account it's stored under.

Source · learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-troubleshooting-sign-in