Power Automate Flow triggered via SharePoint button is continually showing errors

Mcintosh, Rebecca 256 Reputation points
2026-05-12T09:04:28.42+00:00

Can someone please advise if there is currently an issue with Power Automate and SharePoint?

I am getting this error when the flow is attempted to run via SharePoint button. This is in the test environment and all works in a development environment:

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Error: Flow could not be activated because you need a Power Automate Premium license or other license that includes premium connectors to save this flow with connection: ''

However, I have many flows set up this way and the Run As permissions are all set to run using credentials that have a licence and therefore has never been an issue up until now. Why is this suddenly appearing yesterday/today? All users have the necessary security roles to allow them to run Power Automate via SharePoint button.

Microsoft 365 and Office | SharePoint | Development

3 answers

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  1. Balu Premkumar 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-30T07:42:53.5333333+00:00

    The error is accurate: the flow does contain a premium connector, even though the diamond icon is not showing. The Microsoft Dataverse connector is premium (Microsoft's connector reference lists it as Premium), while Send an HTTP request to SharePoint is standard. So it is the Dataverse actions that trigger the check, not the SharePoint one.

    Why dev works and test does not: a Developer environment comes with the free Developer Plan, which allows premium connectors in that environment only. Test is a normal sandbox or production environment, so whoever saves or turns on the flow needs a Power Automate Premium licence (or a Power Apps Premium or per-user plan that covers it, or the flow needs a Process licence).

    Run As on the button controls which connection is used when the flow runs. It does not change who needs a licence to save or activate the flow, and the error text says save, so the account doing the saving is the one being checked.

    What I would check: open the flow in Test, look at Details for the owners and the connections list, and confirm the last person to save or turn it on holds a premium licence in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. If it is an account with the Developer Plan only, assign a Power Automate Premium licence or move ownership to a licensed account. If you cannot licence it, replace the Dataverse actions with a standard option (for example a SharePoint list) so the flow stays standard.

    I cannot see a service incident from here. The check runs when a flow is saved, imported or re-enabled, so a flow that has been fine for months can fail the first time it is touched in Test, which would explain why it started yesterday.

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  2. Anonymous
    2026-05-12T10:08:00.7033333+00:00

    Hi @Mcintosh, Rebecca   

    At the moment, I have not found any official documentation that directly addresses this behavior.  Additionally, I recommend reviewing the response from Q&A Assist, as it explains your situation and indicates that it is more related to licensing rather than permissions 

     

    This documentation may also be helpful for additional context: 

    image

    Reference: Power Automate licensing FAQ - Power Platform | Microsoft Learn     

    Additionally, you may want to review a similar thread that describes this behavior: 

    image

    Reference: Solved: Unable to Run Flow and getting Premium Connector issue 

    For any future questions that are more specific to Power Automate behavior, you may also find it helpful to explore the https://community.powerplatform.com/ .  It is an active community where many experienced members are willing to share their knowledge and practical guidance based on similar environments and deeper domain expertise. 

    I hope this helps bring more clarity. 


    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-05-12T09:04:48.5466667+00:00

    The error indicates that the flow (or its trigger/connection) is using a premium connector, and the user who is calling the flow from SharePoint does not have a license that covers premium connectors. This is a licensing/connector issue, not a general outage.

    Key points from the error and behavior:

    1. The caller’s license is what matters
      • For flows that use premium connectors, the user who triggers or runs the flow must have a Power Automate Premium (Per User) license, or the flow must be covered by a Power Automate Process (Per Flow) license.
      • The fact that the “Run As” or owner account has a premium license is not sufficient if the scenario is evaluated against the caller’s license. This matches the documented behavior where the error DirectApiAuthorizationRequired occurs when a flow uses a premium connector but the caller doesn’t have a premium license.
    2. Why it may have started “suddenly”
      • If this worked previously and only started failing yesterday/today, the most common documented cause is that a license expired or changed for either:
        • The user who is triggering the flow from SharePoint, or
        • The flow owner (for scheduled/automated flows).
      • Another possibility is that the flow or its connections were modified so that a previously standard connector was replaced with, or now depends on, a premium connector.
    3. What to check and do
      1. Confirm whether the flow’s trigger or any actions use premium connectors (for example HTTP, SQL Server, Dataverse, custom connectors):
        • Edit the flow and identify the connector used in the trigger and key actions.
        • Compare it against the connector list in Power Automate; premium connectors are explicitly marked as PREMIUM.
      2. Verify licensing for the users who run the flow from SharePoint:
        • Ensure each of these users has either:
          • A Power Automate Premium (Per User) license, or
          • The flow is covered by a Power Automate Process (Per Flow) license and is configured accordingly.
        • If they previously could run the flow, check whether their premium trial or paid license has expired or been removed.
      3. If the flow is intended to be shared broadly and uses premium connectors, consider assigning a Process (Per Flow) license instead of relying on each caller having a Premium (Per User) license.

    Once licensing is corrected (or the flow is redesigned to avoid premium connectors), the SharePoint button should be able to trigger the flow without the “Flow could not be activated because you need a Power Automate Premium license” error.


    References:

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