Power Query Problems

Fix Power Query SharePoint DataSource Error When Loading Excel Files

WPS Editor Sep 28, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user experiences intermittent DataSource errors and slow refreshes when using Power Query to load Excel workbooks from SharePoint.

Fix Power Query SharePoint DataSource Errors When Loading Excel Files

Product: Microsoft Excel, SharePoint, Power Query
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Refreshing Power Query data sourced from multiple Excel files stored on a SharePoint site.
Observed behavior: Refreshes take several minutes and intermittently fail with a SharePoint DataSource.Error requesting context information, with the failing source file varying.

Before you start

Ensure you have a stable internet connection and verify that you have the appropriate read permissions for the SharePoint site and all source Excel files.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify Source Files and User Access

Rule out file corruption and file locking by other users as the root cause of the DataSource error.

Power Query can struggle to pull data from SharePoint if the source Excel files are corrupted or currently locked by another user who is editing them without co-authoring properly synced.

Test with a newly created file

Create a brand new Excel file on your SharePoint site. Temporarily update your Power Query source settings to point to this new file to check if one of the original workbooks is corrupted.

Close active files

Ensure that all users who might be accessing the source Excel files have completely closed them, as active file locks can trigger context information errors during the data refresh.

Retry the data refresh

In your main Excel workbook, navigate to the 'Data' tab on the ribbon and click 'Refresh All' to see if the Power Query now executes without the DataSource.Error.

Variable File Failures: Because the failing source file varies, the issue is highly likely related to temporary file locks caused by active users rather than permanent file corruption.

Solution 2

Contact Microsoft 365 Support

If local troubleshooting fails, escalate the problem to Microsoft Support for advanced environment diagnostics.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Power Query take so long to refresh from SharePoint?

Refreshing from SharePoint requires downloading data over the network, which can be slow if you are dealing with multiple large Excel files, complex data transformations, or local bandwidth limitations.

Can an open Excel file cause a Power Query error?

Yes. If another user has a source Excel file open in the desktop application and it creates a file lock, Power Query may fail to read the file, resulting in an intermittent DataSource error.

How do I find my SharePoint connection details to provide to support?

You can find your connection details by opening your Excel file, navigating to the Data tab, clicking 'Queries & Connections', right-clicking your specific query, and selecting 'Advanced Editor' to view the source URL.

Excel & Data Problems