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How to Fix Power BI Not Showing New Microsoft Forms Responses
Question details
Users need to resolve an issue where new Microsoft Forms responses are not updating in connected Power BI reports.
- Product
- Power BI, Microsoft Forms, Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Syncing Microsoft Forms response data to a Power BI dashboard via a SharePoint Excel workbook.
- Observed behavior
- New responses submitted to Microsoft Forms do not appear online in Power BI, even though the scheduled dataset refresh reports no errors.
Before troubleshooting Power BI, ensure you have the necessary permissions to access both the source Excel workbook on SharePoint and the dataset settings in your Power BI workspace.
Verify and Fix Microsoft Forms to Excel Synchronization
The most common culprit is that the data is not successfully syncing from Microsoft Forms to the SharePoint Excel workbook.
If Power BI is refreshing successfully but showing no new data, it is likely pulling from a file that hasn't been updated. You must first ensure the SharePoint Excel file contains the latest responses.
Navigate to your SharePoint document library and open the Excel workbook connected to your Microsoft Forms to check if the latest responses are recorded.
If new responses are missing, the workbook may be corrupted. Go to Microsoft Forms, open your form, click on the 'Responses' tab, and select 'Sync all responses to a new workbook' to generate a fresh Excel file.
If you created a new workbook, open your Power BI report in Power BI Desktop, go to 'Data source settings', and update the file path to point to the newly created SharePoint Excel file before publishing again.
Check Power BI Dataset Refresh Settings and Credentials
If the Excel file contains the latest data but Power BI doesn't show it, the issue lies within the Power BI Service configuration.
Seamlessly Manage Form Data and Spreadsheets with WPS Office
While Power BI handles complex enterprise dashboarding, managing and analyzing the underlying spreadsheet data requires a reliable and efficient tool. WPS Office provides a free, lightweight, and highly compatible alternative to Microsoft Office for organizing, analyzing, and cleaning your exported response data.
- 1. Download and Install: Download WPS Office for free from the official website and follow the simple installation wizard.
- 2. Open Your Exported Data: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the .xlsx file downloaded from Microsoft Forms or SharePoint.
- 3. Analyze Responses: Use built-in filters, pivot tables, and charts to quickly summarize and clean your form responses before connecting them to external dashboards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my scheduled refresh in Power BI show success but data isn't updated?
This usually happens when the source file (like the SharePoint Excel workbook) hasn't received the new data from Microsoft Forms. Power BI successfully refreshes by reading the file, but it is pulling outdated data because the sync from Forms to Excel failed.
How long does it take for Microsoft Forms responses to appear in a SharePoint Excel file?
Forms responses normally sync to a linked SharePoint Excel workbook almost instantaneously. If there is a delay or missing data, the workbook connection might be corrupted, requiring you to generate and sync responses to a completely new workbook.
Can I connect Microsoft Forms directly to Power BI without using Excel?
There is no direct built-in connector between Microsoft Forms and Power BI. You must either route the data through a SharePoint Excel file, use Power Automate to push data into a Power BI streaming dataset, or store the responses in a database first.
Will clearing browser cache help Power BI show the latest responses?
If the dataset has successfully refreshed with new data but your report still looks old, clearing your browser cache or clicking the 'Refresh visuals' button on the report page can sometimes force the latest data to render.
