Set up automatic daily or hourly data refresh so reports always show current data
When you publish a Power BI report with imported data, the data in the Service is a snapshot from when you last published or refreshed. To keep reports current — say, updating every morning at 7 AM — you configure Scheduled Refresh.
For scheduled refresh to work with on-premise data sources (SQL Server, Excel on a company server, SharePoint on-premise), you need to install the On-premises Data Gateway on a machine that is always on and has access to the data source.
Example
Set up scheduled refresh
FOR CLOUD SOURCES (SharePoint Online, Azure SQL):
Power BI Service → Datasets → your dataset → Settings
→ Scheduled refresh → On
→ Frequency: Daily or Weekly
→ Time zone and refresh times (up to 8x/day on Pro)
→ Add email notifications on failure
→ Save
FOR ON-PREMISE SOURCES (SQL Server, network Excel):
STEP 1 — Install On-premises Data Gateway:
Download from: microsoft.com/download/details?id=53127
Install on a PC that is always on and has DB access
Sign in with Power BI account → Register gateway
STEP 2 — Connect dataset to gateway:
Power BI Service → Datasets → Settings
Gateway connection → select your gateway
Enter data source credentials
STEP 3 — Configure schedule:
Same as cloud: Scheduled refresh → On → set times
REFRESH LIMITS (Power BI Pro):
Import mode: 8 refreshes per day
Premium capacity: up to 48 per day
MANUAL REFRESH:
Datasets → click Refresh icon → immediate refresh
Useful for ad-hoc or before a big meeting
Key Points
✓Scheduled refresh only works in Power BI Service — not in Desktop
✓On-premises gateway required for any data source on a local network
✓Refresh failures send email alerts if configured — always set this up
✓DirectQuery reports do not need scheduled refresh — they query live
✓Dataset refresh and report refresh are different — only dataset refresh updates data
Practice Question
Your Power BI report connects to an on-premise SQL Server database. What do you need to install to enable scheduled refresh in Power BI Service?