Fixing 'Data Source Credentials No Longer Valid' in Power BI Scheduled Refresh
You are a Power BI administrator. A user reports that their scheduled data refresh fails with error 'The data source credentials are no longer valid.' The dataset uses a SQL Server database with Windows authentication. What should you do first to resolve the issue?
Quick Answer
Having the user update the data source credentials in the Power BI service dataset settings is the answer because this specific error message points directly at authentication rather than connectivity or capacity -- 'the data source credentials are no longer valid' is what Power BI shows when the stored credentials it's using to connect to the SQL Server database, in this case Windows authentication, have changed or expired since they were last saved, most commonly because a password was reset. The fix has to happen where those credentials are actually stored for the scheduled refresh to use, which is the dataset's connection settings in the Power BI service, not anywhere else in the refresh pipeline. The other options in this kind of scenario tend to target unrelated parts of the system: reinstalling the on-premises data gateway addresses connectivity problems, not authentication ones, and there's no indication here that the gateway itself is failing; reassigning the dataset to a different Premium capacity affects compute resources, not credential validity; and switching to impersonate the authenticated user still requires that user's credentials to be valid, so it doesn't bypass the underlying problem at all. Whenever an error message explicitly calls out credentials rather than a connection timeout or capacity issue, go straight to the stored credentials for that data source rather than troubleshooting the gateway or the surrounding infrastructure.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Ask the user to update the data source credentials in the Power BI service dataset settings.
The error 'The data source credentials are no longer valid' typically occurs when the password has changed or expired. The user can update the credentials in the dataset settings in the Power BI service. Option A is incorrect because the on-premises data gateway is not the issue; a reinstall is unnecessary. Option B is incorrect because reassigning the dataset to a different Premium capacity does not address credential validity. Option C is incorrect because using 'Impersonate the authenticated user' still requires valid credentials and does not fix the problem.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reinstall the on-premises data gateway on the server.
Why it's wrong here
Reinstalling the gateway is unnecessary; the issue is credential-related.
- ✗
Reassign the dataset to a different Premium capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Capacity assignment does not affect credential validity.
- ✗
Modify the dataset to use 'Impersonate the authenticated user' for data sources.
Why it's wrong here
Impersonation is for web-based data sources, not Windows authentication.
- ✓
Ask the user to update the data source credentials in the Power BI service dataset settings.
Why this is correct
Windows credentials may expire; updating them in the service resolves the error.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on PL-300
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are a Power BI administrator. A user reports that their scheduled data refresh fails every day with the error 'The credentials provided for the data source are invalid.' The user has verified the credentials are correct. What is the most likely cause?
medium- A.The user changed their password after configuring the refresh.
- ✓ B.The data source requires OAuth authentication, and the refresh token has expired.
- C.The on-premises data gateway is offline.
- D.The dataset uses incremental refresh, which requires Premium capacity.
Why B: OAuth authentication uses tokens that can expire, requiring re-authentication. Even if the user's credentials are correct, the refresh token may have expired, causing the refresh to fail. Option A is incorrect because changing a password would produce a different error related to invalid credentials. Option C is incorrect because if the gateway were offline, the error would typically indicate that the gateway is unreachable. Option D is incorrect because incremental refresh itself does not affect credential validity; it is a feature for partitioning data loads.
Variation 2. You are a Power BI administrator. A Power BI dataset owner reports that the dataset is not refreshing automatically, but manual refreshes work fine. The dataset uses a cloud data source (Azure SQL Database) with OAuth2 credentials. What is the most likely cause?
hard- A.Row-level security (RLS) is misconfigured.
- B.The on-premises data gateway is offline.
- C.The dataset exceeds the refresh limit for the assigned capacity.
- ✓ D.The OAuth2 token used for the data source credentials has expired.
Why D: OAuth2 tokens used for cloud data source credentials have a limited lifetime (typically 1-2 hours for access tokens). When automatic refresh occurs, the token may be expired, causing failure unless refresh tokens or service principals are configured. Manual refreshes succeed because the user reauthenticates, obtaining a new token. Option A is incorrect because row-level security (RLS) does not affect refresh functionality; it only filters data for users. Option B is incorrect because if the on-premises data gateway were offline, both manual and automatic refreshes would fail, but manual refreshes work fine. Option C is incorrect because capacity refresh limits apply equally to both manual and scheduled refreshes.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PL-300 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PL-300 exam.