Login window appears each time the files are opened

[ATFabi]

oHello everyone,

Various Excel files have been running automatically in our company for years. In all these files, various data sources are accessed in the background, the file is updated, saved and then closed again.

Since one of the last updates, however, we have noticed that the login window for authentication appears for the data source every time an update is started. In these cases, Power BI is always accessed here. The thing here is that it is not even necessary to enter a password, a simple click on the user name is sufficient. The update then continues as usual.

I installed an older version of Office for testing purposes (~ August 2023) and here no window appeared and the update went through immediately. So I strongly suspect that it has to do with a recent update.

Since these files run unattended at night, this logically leads to problems as no update can continue without account confirmation.

Is there a solution as to how we can suppress this required confirmation or bypass this window completely?

We have already done the following:

- Repaired Office

- Completely reinstalled Office

- Removed login information from the keychain in Windows

- Tested on other computers (unfortunately the same problem everywhere with the same version of Excel)

- Registration with Entra / Azure newly deposited

- Other account stored

Version used: Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2312 Build 16.0.17126.20126) 64 Bit

Unfortunately, all these steps were unsuccessful. Therefore I hope for a good tip from the community

Thank you very much already!

Best regards

Fabian

[v-jingzhan-msft]

Hi all, 

We have received feedback from Excel. This behavior is by design due to changes in MSOLAP.

Cause:

Updates to the MSOLAP package have changed how the user is prompted on new sessions of the application for connecting to Power BI datasources and how this is cached. They are working with MSOLAP to improve this experience in the future but do not have any timelines for this at present. 

Workaround:

If a customer does not want to take advantage of security updates from MSOLAP, they can uninstall the MSOLAP package and reinstall an earlier version to get the old behavior, however, this is not recommended as they will reverting to an earlier version which does not have the latest security updates. 

Hope this would be helpful. 

Best Regards,
Jing
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[v-jingzhan-msft]

Thank you for this information. We have submitted this issue internally. I will update here once there is any feedback. Thank you for your patience. 

Best regards,

Jing

[vollerballer1]

I have the exact same issue. Only PowerBI Datasets are causing the issue with forcing authentication. 

[v-jingzhan-msft]

Hi @ATFabi 

Does this issue occur on a specific data source in Power BI Service? Which data source does the Excel file refreshes data from? Do other data sources have the same issue?

In addition, I notice that a newer build 17126.20132 has been released on January 9, 2024. Would you mind install the latest build and check the refresh behavior again? 

Best Regards,
Jing

[DHayes]

I am running "Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2402 Build 16.0.17328.20124) 64-bit )" and have the same issue. Please advise

[ATFabi]

Hello @v-jingzhan-msft 

This problem appears as soon as Power BI is accessed via Excel. We observe this behavior with all data sources within our BI.

Best regards