How to Set Up Scheduled Refreshes in Power BI

Updated on:

May 12, 2026

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Use this interactive demo to learn how to automate dataset refreshes in Power BI on a recurring schedule.

Quick summary

Scheduled refresh in Power BI keeps your semantic model automatically up to date without manual intervention. You can configure daily or weekly refresh times directly from the dataset settings panel in the Power BI service.

Steps

Navigate to My workspace in the Power BI service, where all your reports and datasets are stored.
Locate and select the semantic model (dataset) you want to configure for automatic refresh.
Click the ellipsis (three dots) next to your dataset to reveal the available menu options.
From the dropdown menu, select Refresh to access the dataset configuration options.
In the Settings panel, find the Scheduled refresh section and toggle Keep data updated to ON.
Under Refresh frequency, choose Daily or Weekly based on your reporting needs.
Select your preferred time zone, then specify exactly when you want the refreshes to occur.
Review your settings, then click Apply to save your schedule and enable automatic data refresh.

📌 Why this matters

Keeping Power BI reports current is critical for data-driven decision-making, yet manually refreshing datasets is error-prone and time-consuming. The scheduled refresh feature in Power BI lets analysts and BI teams automatically sync their semantic models with source data on a daily or weekly cadence, ensuring dashboards always reflect the latest information. This eliminates stale data risks, reduces operational overhead, and helps organizations maintain reporting accuracy without relying on manual intervention. For teams managing multiple datasets across workspaces, automated scheduled refresh is a foundational best practice for scalable, reliable business intelligence.

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