Power BI and Fabric news, 25 September 2026: new dates for ADBC, Q&A and Copilot billing
Easy Insight Team ·
Three dates moved this fortnight. Microsoft now plans to remove ODBC drivers from the Power BI service in early Q1 2027 rather than this autumn, Power BI Q&A retires in February 2027 rather than December, and Copilot bought through a partner gets usage-based billing by default from 2 November. Two of the three buy you time.
This covers 12 to 25 September; the September feature summaries, not yet out, will anchor our 2 October update.
Has the ODBC-to-ADBC deadline moved?
Yes, later. When we covered the driver switch on 11 September, Microsoft's page put ODBC removal from the service at late Q3 to early Q4 2026. The page, revised on 17 September, now reads (Microsoft Learn):
| When (planned) | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 2026 | Microsoft begins switching the ADBC tenant setting on by default, in phases |
| Early Q1 2027 | ODBC drivers start being removed from the service |
| Spring 2027 | ODBC drivers stop shipping with Power BI Desktop and the gateway |
The affected connectors are unchanged (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks and four others), and the default-on step is still next month, so test one affected report now.
Microsoft has also published a free scanner, pq-adbc-advisor: a read-only Fabric notebook that scans a workspace and labels each item "Will fail", "Needs review" or "Ready" (Microsoft Fabric blog, 15 September). With more than a handful of reports, run it first.
When does Power BI Q&A stop working?
February 2027, not December 2026. Microsoft's retirement update (10 September) says Q&A "will no longer work in Power BI" from then, and Copilot is the replacement.
The useful change for smaller organisations is in the same post: Copilot is now available on all Fabric capacities from F2 upwards, where Fabric Copilot Capacity was previously limited to P1/F64 and above. That puts it within reach of a small capacity; our Fabric pricing guide has the UK numbers and our Copilot in Power BI guide covers what it does well. If you embed Q&A in your own app, note that Microsoft has "no plans" for a Copilot replacement there.
Are you buying Copilot through a partner?
Then two dates matter, both from Microsoft's September partner announcements:
- 30 September 2026: Microsoft 365 E5, E7 and Copilot promotions end for partners (Cloud Solution Providers) as Microsoft moves them to a new margin scheme.
- 2 November 2026: new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licences bought through a partner include usage-based billing by default, covering pay-as-you-go experiences such as Copilot Cowork.
If you were about to buy through your IT partner, ask this week whether its promotional price survives 30 September, and ask how usage-based charges will be switched on and controlled on your account.
Buying direct is a separate channel. As of September 2026, Microsoft's UK site lists Copilot Business from £13.80 per user per month, paid yearly and excluding VAT, down from £16.10, as a first-year offer running to 31 December 2026. Our Power BI licensing guide explains how that sits alongside Power BI Pro.
Is anyone still on Office 2021 LTSC?
Support for Office LTSC 2021, Project LTSC 2021 and Visio LTSC 2021 ends on 13 October 2026, after which they get no updates or security fixes (Microsoft partner announcements). These non-subscription editions tend to hide on a shared PC or server, so check before the 13th.
What else changed?
- Gateway: a new on-premises data gateway build, 3000.334.4, was published on 21 September (Microsoft download page). Deleted standard-mode gateways can now be recovered for 30 days, in preview.
- Data Factory: from 30 October 2026, new legacy Teams or Outlook activities can't be added to Fabric pipelines; existing ones keep running (Fabric blog).
What we would do this week
Run the ADBC scanner or test one affected report; update any gateway; ask your IT partner about Copilot pricing before 30 September; and look for Office 2021 LTSC installs. FabCon Europe runs in Barcelona from 28 September to 1 October, so expect announcements next week.
If you want help with any of it, our Power BI consultancy handles migrations like this, and the data practice and AI strategy pages explain how we work.
Frequently asked questions
When will Power BI stop supporting ODBC drivers?
As of 17 September 2026, Microsoft plans to start switching the ADBC setting on by default in phases from October 2026, to begin removing ODBC drivers from the service in early Q1 2027, and to stop shipping them with Power BI Desktop and the gateway in spring 2027. All three dates are planned and subject to rollout readiness.
When does Power BI Q&A retire?
Microsoft has moved the retirement from December 2026 to February 2027. From then Q&A will no longer work in Power BI. Copilot is the intended replacement and is now available on all Fabric capacities from F2 upwards, but Microsoft has no plans for a Copilot replacement for embedded Q&A.
Does usage-based billing apply to every Copilot Business licence?
No. Microsoft's partner announcement covers new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licences bought through a Cloud Solution Provider from 2 November 2026, where pay-as-you-go billing for experiences such as Copilot Cowork will be on by default. Ask your partner how it will be switched on and controlled on your account.
Easy Insight is a UK consultancy for AI, web, apps and data — senior specialists only, no juniors.
Next step
Want a number before you talk to anyone?
The free Power BI & Fabric Pricing Estimator gives you a first-pass licensing cost in two minutes, and it doesn't ask for an email. When you're ready, a free data review is one call with the consultant who would deliver it; EasyStart Power BI builds are fixed from £4,950.