ODBC Password won't save

[mjcosentino]

I'm trying to connect a postgres db to Power BI client using ODBC connection

downloaded the ODBC driver, setup the DSN

when I input the username and password in Power BI, it seems like PBI is overwriting/changing the password

here i am editing the password - note the character length:

If i click Save and Edit again:

the character length on password has changed:

of course when i go to connect, i get a password error:

and i am most definitely using the same password that i input in the DSN setup for ODBC.

why is Power BI seemingly changing my password? how do i make PBI stop changing the password?

[mjcosentino · Accepted solution]

Microsoft support helped solve the issue:

for the native postgres connector, I had the Encryption option selected.

going into File > Options & Settings > Data Source Settings > Edit Permissions > and unchecking the "Encrypt Connections" box solved the issue.

for the ODBC connection, there is a % character in the Password I'm using that had to be amended to %25 - once I made that change, Power BI accepted the password. see:

PostgreSQL ODBC to PowerBI Password - Microsoft Fabric Community

When PostgreSQL/AWS password is “11COEde1%23”, but when stored within the registry as a flat text entry, the “%” character is probably not considered during the handshake process. By adding the appropriate ASCII encode “%25”, which is equal to “%”, the connection worked perfectly fine.

By adding the appropriate ASCII encode “%25”, which is equal to “%”, the connection worked

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @mjcosentino,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Forum Community.

Based on your description, it seems that Power BI is not properly retaining the password entered for the unified_ro user. This is evident from the change in the masked password character length when you revisit the credentials, followed by a failed authentication error.

To resolve this, we recommend using Power BI’s native PostgreSQL connector instead of the ODBC route. The native connector offers more stable and reliable credential management.

You can access it via Home > Get Data > PostgreSQL database in Power BI Desktop.

Try to clear up any previously cached credentials that Power BI might be holding. Go to File > Options and Settings > Data Source Settings, locate your DSN and click Clear Permissions. After that, re-enter your credentials and try connecting again. This can help resolve issues related to corrupted or outdated credential caches.

If this post helps, then please give us ‘Kudos’ and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thank you.

[mjcosentino]

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, the whole reason I'm attempting to go the ODBC route is because there are certificate issues when using the native Postgres connector.

When I do Get Data from Another Source > PostgreSQL database > input server and DB name > input User Name and PW > I get the error "Remote certificate is invalid according to the validation procedure." 

However, the engineer administering the DB in question shared the certifcate info, which I've shared a (heavily redacted) screenshot below, and everything seems to be valid.

I have a support ticket open with Microsoft about both the ODBC issue, and the invalid certificate issue  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

error message with Postgres DB connector:

redacted cert info:

And I have gone into the Data Source Settings several times and cleared / re-entered the data for the postgres and ODBC connections, but the result is always the same.

[v-saisrao-msft]

Hi @mjcosentino,

Since you’ve already raised a support ticket with Microsoft regarding both the ODBC credential handling issue and the certificate validation error with the native PostgreSQL connector, please keep the thread updated and share any insights once the issue is resolved. This may help others facing similar challenges.

Thank you.