Is PowerBIIntegration.refresh() Missing in Your Power App? Here’s the Fix!

Integrating Power Apps with Power BI can significantly improve your data interaction, especially when using a DirectQuery source. However, a common issue is the missing PowerBIIntegration.refresh() function. This function is crucial for ensuring that your Power BI reports update instantly with each change made in Power Apps.        

Here’s a quick guide to ensure it's always available.

Prerequisites:

1. App Creation: You must create the app directly from the Power Apps visual within the Power BI report on Power BI service. This ensures the PowerBIIntegration.refresh() function is embedded in the app.

2. Data Source Compatibility: The source must support DirectQuery like SQL, Oracle, SAP HANA or Dataverse...

More Direct Query Data Source list can be found here

A lot of the time even after creating a Power Apps visual from Power BI Desktop, the PowerBIIntegration.refresh() function might still be missing which can create a lot of frustration.

 Solution

To avoid this problem, it’s best to use Power BI Service. Here’s how to make sure the function is available:

1. Publish Your Report: Start by publishing your Power BI report to a workspace.
2. Edit Online: Open your report in Power BI Service and edit it.
3. Add Power Apps Visual: Integrate the Power Apps visual. This step will force a connection between Power BI and Power Apps, which enables the PowerBIIntegration.refresh() function.

In my experience, following these steps the PowerBIIntegration.refresh() function is available 100% of the time, compared with Power BI Desktop.

Hopefully this guide makes it easier for you to get Power Apps and Power BI working together smoothly, especially if you're dealing with PowerBIIntegration.refresh() function

Some note: 

1. Even if you see the PowerBIIntegration in Power App panel, there is no guarantee PowerBIIntegration.refresh() available
2. You can’t enable this connection on existing apps and there's an ongoing request for this feature, and you can vote to support its implementation ideas.powerapps.com/d365community/idea/329bbda8-4ab6-4037-81e8-1815735fca41