What causes Fabric Copy Activity Error 20704?

The 'validateDataConsistency' property is set to true in a non-binary copy scenario such as format conversion or transformation. The copy activity is configured to transform or convert data between formats, which is incompatible with binary-level consistency checks. A pipeline template or reused activity payload included 'validateDataConsistency' without verifying compatibility with the target copy mode

How do I fix Fabric Copy Activity Error 20704?

Step 1: Open the Copy Activity settings in the Fabric Data Factory authoring canvas and locate the 'validateDataConsistency' property in the activity payload or advanced settings.. Step 2: Confirm that your copy scenario is not a direct binary copy (e.g., it involves format conversion from CSV to Parquet, or applies column mappings or transformations).. Step 3: Remove the 'validateDataConsistency' property from the Copy Activity JSON payload or toggle it off in the UI.. Step 4: Save, republish, and re-trigger the pipeline to verify the error is resolved.. Step 5: If you require data consistency guarantees in non-binary scenarios, implement a separate validation step using a data flow or script activity that compares row counts or checksums between source and sink.

Medium severityconfigurationMicrosoft Fabric →

Power BI Refresh Error:
Fabric Copy Activity Error 20704

What does this error mean?

The Copy Activity's data consistency validation feature is not compatible with the current activity configuration. Consistency validation is only supported in direct binary copy scenarios and cannot be used with other copy modes.

Common causes

1The 'validateDataConsistency' property is set to true in a non-binary copy scenario such as format conversion or transformation
2The copy activity is configured to transform or convert data between formats, which is incompatible with binary-level consistency checks
3A pipeline template or reused activity payload included 'validateDataConsistency' without verifying compatibility with the target copy mode

How to fix it

1Step 1: Open the Copy Activity settings in the Fabric Data Factory authoring canvas and locate the 'validateDataConsistency' property in the activity payload or advanced settings.
2Step 2: Confirm that your copy scenario is not a direct binary copy (e.g., it involves format conversion from CSV to Parquet, or applies column mappings or transformations).
3Step 3: Remove the 'validateDataConsistency' property from the Copy Activity JSON payload or toggle it off in the UI.
4Step 4: Save, republish, and re-trigger the pipeline to verify the error is resolved.
5Step 5: If you require data consistency guarantees in non-binary scenarios, implement a separate validation step using a data flow or script activity that compares row counts or checksums between source and sink.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is a 'direct binary copy' scenario?

A direct binary copy means the Copy Activity transfers files from source to sink without any format conversion, schema mapping, or data transformation — the file is copied as-is in binary form. Any scenario involving format changes, column mappings, or derived columns is not a binary copy.

How can I validate data consistency if I can't use 'validateDataConsistency' in my scenario?

You can add a downstream activity such as a Lookup or Script activity that queries the row count or a checksum from both source and sink after the copy completes, and then use a conditional path to fail the pipeline if the values do not match.