If Power BI is unable to connect to your Flowsite flow URL, or you are seeing an error when entering credentials, this article covers the most common causes and how to fix them.
What's happening
Power BI displays an error when attempting to connect to the Flowsite flow URL — such as "We were unable to retrieve the contents of the web page" or a credentials failure — preventing data from loading.
Why this happens
The flow has not been saved or triggered yet — no CSV file exists at the URL
Credentials were entered incorrectly or copied with extra spaces
Cached credentials in Power BI have expired or become stale
The Flowsite URL in Power BI does not match the current flow URL
A corporate firewall or proxy is blocking access to the Flowsite S3 file endpoint
How to fix it
1. Confirm the flow has been saved and triggered
In Flowsite, open the flow and check that the Save button is greyed out. Then go to the Runs page and confirm at least one successful run exists. If not, click Trigger flow manually and wait for the run to complete before connecting in Power BI.
2. Re-enter credentials manually
In Power BI, go to Data → Get Data → Web, and enter the Flowsite URL again. When prompted, select Basic authentication. Type your Flowsite username and password manually — do not paste, as extra spaces can cause authentication failures.
3. Clear cached credentials and reconnect
Go to Data → Get Data → Data Source Settings. Locate the Flowsite URL, click Clear Permissions, then select Delete. Re-enter your credentials via Get Data → Web → Basic authentication.
4. Check the flow URL is correct
In Flowsite, open the flow and copy the URL again. In Power BI, go to Data Source Settings, select the existing Flowsite URL, click Change Source, and paste the correct URL.
5. Check for a firewall or proxy block
Paste the Flowsite flow URL directly into a browser. If it prompts for credentials or returns data, the URL is reachable and the issue is Power BI-side. If the URL fails in the browser too, your network or corporate firewall may be blocking access. Ask your IT team to whitelist sitemate-flowsite-hosted-files-production.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com.
If the issue continues
Contact your Solutions Engineer with the flow URL and a screenshot of the error so they can check the Flowsite run logs and confirm whether the CSV file is accessible.