What causes SqlParallelFailedToDetectPhysicalPartitions?

The SQL table does not use physical partitioning and ADF was configured to use physical partition copy mode. ADF lacks SELECT permission on the SQL Server system views needed to query partition metadata. The partitioning scheme or function has been removed from the table since the pipeline was configured

How do I fix SqlParallelFailedToDetectPhysicalPartitions?

Switch from "physical partitions" to "dynamic range" partition mode in the copy activity source settings.. Verify the table is partitioned using: SELECT * FROM sys.partitions WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID(' ').. Ensure the ADF linked service identity has SELECT access to sys.partitions and sys.partition_range_values.

Medium severitydata source

Power BI Refresh Error:
SqlParallelFailedToDetectPhysicalPartitions

What does this error mean?

ADF could not detect physical partitions of the SQL table for parallel copy — the table may not have physical partitions or they are not accessible.

Common causes

1The SQL table does not use physical partitioning and ADF was configured to use physical partition copy mode
2ADF lacks SELECT permission on the SQL Server system views needed to query partition metadata
3The partitioning scheme or function has been removed from the table since the pipeline was configured

How to fix it

1Switch from "physical partitions" to "dynamic range" partition mode in the copy activity source settings.
2Verify the table is partitioned using: SELECT * FROM sys.partitions WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID('<table>').
3Ensure the ADF linked service identity has SELECT access to sys.partitions and sys.partition_range_values.

Frequently asked questions

Does this error affect all pipeline runs or just the current one?

Depends on the root cause. A persistent misconfiguration fails every run; a transient issue may resolve on retry. Check the run history.

Can this error appear in Azure Data Factory and Microsoft Fabric pipelines?

Yes — the same connector errors appear in both ADF and Fabric Data Factory pipelines.

How do I see the full error detail for an ADF pipeline failure?

In ADF Monitor, click the failed run, then the failed activity. The detail pane shows the error code, message, and sub-error codes.

Will downstream Power BI datasets be affected when an ADF pipeline fails?

Yes — a dataset refreshing after the pipeline will use stale data or fail if the target table was cleared. The Power BI refresh may succeed while serving wrong data.

Official documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-factory/connector-troubleshoot-synapse-sql