Permissions
Formula.Firewall: privacy levels cannot be used together
Power BI dataset refresh error: what it means and how to fix it.
What this means
The Data Privacy Firewall is blocking combining sources with incompatible privacy levels (Formula.Firewall).
How to fix it
- In Power BI Desktop, check Options > Global > Privacy: if "Always ignore Privacy Level settings" is selected, switch back to combining by each file's privacy levels. (The similar Current File option does not apply to published semantic models.)
- Set compatible, non-Private privacy levels on the sources, then republish.
- Restructure the query with a staging query if needed.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the "Formula.Firewall: privacy levels cannot be used together" error mean?
- The Data Privacy Firewall is blocking combining sources with incompatible privacy levels (Formula.Firewall).
- How do I fix it?
- In Power BI Desktop, check Options > Global > Privacy: if "Always ignore Privacy Level settings" is selected, switch back to combining by each file's privacy levels. (The similar Current File option does not apply to published semantic models.) Set compatible, non-Private privacy levels on the sources, then republish. Restructure the query with a staging query if needed.
- Where does this Power BI refresh error appear?
- It appears in a Power BI semantic model's refresh history when a scheduled or on-demand refresh fails.
Related permissions errors
Catch this automatically
RefreshRadar monitors every Power BI dataset refresh and emails you when one fails, with the likely cause and the fix, so you are not hearing about a broken refresh from your stakeholders first.