Excel Power Query not refreshing (Download Failed) in Sharepoint

Question

I have an Excel Spreadsheet with a Data Query pulling from a Sharepoint xlsx file. When I refresh in Desktop, everything works fine, but When refreshing from Sharepoint, other queries in the spreadsheet work (Pulling form the same Sharepoint Folder just different xlsx files) but 1 query will not refresh. When I try to refresh this query, it returns a connect to data source pop-up. We use an Organizational Account, and I am signed in throughout the workbook, when I edit credentials, the query still will not connect while online, only while in desktop will it work. the Query is a very basic query pulling a pulling a complete table. Any Ideas?

Answer 1

Hi @Michael Petroff,  

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Thank you for providing such a clear description of the issue. I understand when a workbook functions perfectly on your desktop but hits a roadblock in SharePoint, especially when only one specific query is affected. 

This behavior usually stems from how Excel for the web handles credentials compared to the Desktop application, or potentially a specific detail in the SharePoint URL or filename. To help resolve this, I recommend trying the following troubleshooting steps. 

1/ Refresh credentials in Excel for the Web 

Technically, Excel on web manages data source permissions independently. Even if you are signed in to the workbook, the specific connection might have a stale token. 

• Open the workbook in Excel for the web. 
• Navigate to the Data tab, choose Get Data and select Data Source Settings. 
• Under Current Workbook, locate the SharePoint source used by the failing query. 
• Select it and click Delete (this clears the old connection info), then select Add/Edit Credentials. 
• Ensure you sign in using your Organizational Account. 

2/ Verify the SharePoint URL format 

Power Query in Excel Online is optimized for modern SharePoint site URLs. If the query was built using a classic page link or a direct "Copy Link" from a file, the web refresh may fail. 

• Ensure your source path points to the Site Root URL (like https://company.sharepoint.com/sites/TeamName) rather than a long, encoded string for a specific file. 

3/ Check for special characters in Filenames 

Excel Online can struggle to authenticate paths if the filename contains specific characters like #, %, or $, as these can be misinterpreted during URL truncation. 

• Check the source .xlsx file. If it contains any of these symbols, rename the file to use only alphanumeric characters and underscores, then update your query source. 

4/ Confirm granular permissions 

Even if you have access to the library, verify that the specific file (or the subfolder it lives in) hasn't had its permission inheritance broken. If the query is trying to reach a path where your account has restricted access, the "Connect" prompt will reappear regardless of your global login. 

Tip: If you need the data updated urgently, you can continue to refresh the data in Excel Desktop and save the file back to SharePoint. This will update the values for all web users while we troubleshoot the automated refresh. 

I hope this response has helped address your question and clarify the behavior you're experiencing. Please feel free to reply if you have any further questions, I would be happy to assist further.      

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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