If you’re encountering a “Flow failed – General error” message in Power Automate, it means that your flow was unable to complete successfully due to an unspecified issue. Here’s a step-by-step approach to troubleshoot and fix the problem:
Step 1: Check the Flow Run History
- Open Power Automate and go to My flows.
- Find the flow that failed and click on it.
- Go to the Run history tab and look for the failed instance.
- Click on the failed run to view the detailed error message.
Step 2: Identify the Error Details
- Look at the specific step where the error occurred.
- Expand the step and check for error codes or messages.
- Common errors include:
- Authentication issues (expired credentials, missing permissions)
- Connector failures (e.g., SharePoint, Dataverse, Outlook, SQL)
- Invalid expressions or missing values
- Timeout issues (long-running operations)
Step 3: Check Connections & Permissions
- Go to Connections in Power Automate and verify that all connections are still active.
- If a connection shows Needs attention, re-authenticate it.
- Ensure the flow has the necessary permissions to access data sources.
Step 4: Fix the Specific Error
Here are some common fixes based on the issue:
| Error Type | Possible Fix |
|---|---|
| Authentication error | Reconnect the affected service (e.g., SharePoint, Dataverse). |
| Missing required fields | Ensure all mandatory fields in actions are correctly filled. |
| Timeout errors | Optimize flow performance or increase timeouts (if possible). |
| Expression errors | Verify dynamic content and expressions in Power Automate. |
Step 5: Test the Flow
- Click on Edit and modify any incorrect steps.
- Save the flow and run a manual test.
- Monitor the Run history again to ensure it completes successfully.
Step 6: Enable Notifications & Logs
- Set up failure notifications in Power Automate to get alerts.
- Enable detailed logging using a SharePoint list or Dataverse table to track errors.
Step 7: Seek Support
- If you can’t resolve the issue, check the Power Automate Community or Microsoft Support.
- Provide error details when seeking help.