Dashboard Panel Shows Cached Data Instead of Updating with New Variable Values

Grafana Dashboards
1

Title: Dashboard Panel Shows Cached Data Instead of Updating with New Variable Values

Environment:

  • Grafana version: 11.4.0
  • Docker deployment
  • PostgreSQL datasources
  • Multiple panels with variables

Issue:
When interacting with dashboard panels using variables, the panels show cached data instead of updating with new variable selections. Specifically:

  1. Initial load of panel with Variable A = X shows correct data
  2. Change Variable A to Y
  3. Panel continues showing data from previous variable selection (X)
  4. Manual refresh required to see correct data for new variable selection (Y)

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open dashboard with variable-driven panels
  2. Select initial variable value, panel loads correctly
  3. Change variable selection
  4. Panel retains old data instead of updating with new variable
  5. Manual browser refresh required to see updated data

Expected Behavior:

  • Panel should automatically refresh and show new data when variables change
  • No manual refresh should be required to see updated data based on new variable selections

The issue appears after upgrading from Grafana 11.2.5 to newer versions - while dashboard panels refresh correctly with variable changes in 11.2.5, versions 11.3.0 and above require manual refresh to display updated data.

Is there a solution to make panels automatically refresh with variable changes in Grafana versions newer than 11.2.5, similar to how it worked in 11.2.5? I’ve tried adding cacheTimeout, refresh parameters, and query hints, but these haven’t resolved the issue.