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High severityauthentication

Power BI Refresh Error:
18452

What does this error mean?

A Windows login was rejected because the domain is not trusted by SQL Server, or the server is configured for Windows Authentication only.

Common causes

  • 1SQL Server is set to Windows Authentication only and a SQL login is being used
  • 2The client machine is not in a trusted domain or workgroup
  • 3VPN or network hop breaks Kerberos delegation

How to fix it

  1. 1Step 1: Enable SQL Server Authentication mode: SSMS → right-click server → Properties → Security → select 'SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode' → restart SQL Server.
  2. 2Step 2: If Windows auth is required, ensure the connecting machine is domain-joined and the SQL Server SPN is correctly registered: setspn -L <service-account>.
  3. 3Step 3: For ADF or Power BI using a service principal, switch the linked service to SQL authentication or managed identity instead of Windows auth.

Frequently asked questions

Why does 18452 appear when connecting via ADF?

ADF typically uses SQL auth or managed identity. If a linked service is misconfigured to use Windows auth, SQL Server rejects it with 18452 because ADF runs in Azure outside the domain.

How do I check the current SQL Server auth mode?

Run: SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('IsIntegratedSecurityOnly'). Returns 1 for Windows-only, 0 for mixed mode.

Can I fix this without restarting SQL Server?

No — changing the authentication mode requires a SQL Server service restart to take effect.

Official documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/errors-events/mssqlserver-18452-database-engine-error

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