diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7822f9e..2cab993 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+## 1.8.1
+* Fixed visual's fail on data with empty category field
 ## 1.8.0
 * Implements high contrast mode
 * API 1.13.0
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 22e6854..def6c82 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "powerbi-visuals-bulletchart",
   "description": "Bullet chart",
-  "version": "1.8.0",
+  "version": "1.8.1",
   "author": {
     "name": "Microsoft",
     "email": "pbicvsupport@microsoft.com"
diff --git a/pbiviz.json b/pbiviz.json
index 686831a..5545d83 100644
--- a/pbiviz.json
+++ b/pbiviz.json
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 {
   "visual": {
     "name": "BulletChart",
-    "displayName": "Bullet Chart 1.8.0",
+    "displayName": "Bullet Chart 1.8.1",
     "guid": "BulletChart1443347686880",
     "visualClassName": "BulletChart",
-    "version": "1.8.0",
+    "version": "1.8.1",
     "description": "A bullet chart that includes four orientations and a few customization options. Use to feature a single measure against a qualitative range.",
     "supportUrl": "https://community.powerbi.com",
     "gitHubUrl": "https://github.com/Microsoft/powerbi-visuals-bulletchart"
diff --git a/src/visual.ts b/src/visual.ts
index abd95b2..b709006 100644
--- a/src/visual.ts
+++ b/src/visual.ts
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ module powerbi.extensibility.visual {
             }
 
             let categoricalValues: BulletChartColumns<any[]> = BulletChartColumns.getCategoricalValues(dataView);
-            let settings: BulletchartSettings = BulletChart.parseSettings(dataView, categorical.Category.source, colorHelper);
+            let settings: BulletchartSettings = BulletChart.parseSettings(dataView, colorHelper);
 
             BulletChart.updateOrientation(settings);
             BulletChart.limitProperties(settings);
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ module powerbi.extensibility.visual {
             return this.data && this.data.settings;
         }
 
-        private static parseSettings(dataView: DataView, categorySource: DataViewMetadataColumn, colorHelper: ColorHelper): BulletchartSettings {
+        private static parseSettings(dataView: DataView, colorHelper: ColorHelper): BulletchartSettings {
             let settings: BulletchartSettings =  BulletchartSettings.parse<BulletchartSettings>(dataView);
 
             // change colors for high contrast mode
diff --git a/test/visualData.ts b/test/visualData.ts
index f2cfbd4..84306cd 100644
--- a/test/visualData.ts
+++ b/test/visualData.ts
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ module powerbi.extensibility.visual.test {
         public valuesGood = [4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 4, 4];
         public valuesMaximum = [6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7];
 
-        public getDataView(columnNames?: string[], customizeColumns?: CustomizeColumnFn): DataView {
-            return this.createCategoricalDataViewBuilder([
+        public getDataView(columnNames?: string[], customizeColumns?: CustomizeColumnFn, hasCategories: boolean = true): DataView {
+            let categoriesOptions = hasCategories ? [
                 {
                     source: {
                         displayName: BulletChartData.ColumnCategory,
@@ -62,7 +62,10 @@ module powerbi.extensibility.visual.test {
                     },
                     values: this.valuesCategory
                 }
-            ], [
+            ] : [];
+            return this.createCategoricalDataViewBuilder(
+                categoriesOptions,
+                [
                     {
                         source: {
                             displayName: BulletChartData.ColumnValue,
diff --git a/test/visualTest.ts b/test/visualTest.ts
index 3007b18..1554e77 100644
--- a/test/visualTest.ts
+++ b/test/visualTest.ts
@@ -577,6 +577,34 @@ module powerbi.extensibility.visual.test {
                     });
                 });
             });
+
+            describe("empty categories", () => {
+                let rangeRects: JQuery[];
+                let valueRects: JQuery[];
+
+                beforeEach(() => {
+                    dataView = defaultDataViewBuilder.getDataView([
+                        BulletChartData.ColumnCategory,
+                        BulletChartData.ColumnValue,
+                        BulletChartData.ColumnTargetValue,
+                        BulletChartData.ColumnSatisfactory,
+                        BulletChartData.ColumnGood,
+                        BulletChartData.ColumnMaximum
+                    ], undefined, false);
+                    visualBuilder.update(dataView);
+
+                    rangeRects = visualBuilder.rangeRects.toArray().map($);
+                    valueRects = visualBuilder.valueRects.toArray().map($);
+                });
+
+                it("should visual's elements be rendered", (done) => {
+                    visualBuilder.updateRenderTimeout(dataView, () => {
+                        expect(rangeRects.length).not.toBe(0);
+                        expect(valueRects.length).not.toBe(0);
+                        done();
+                    });
+                });
+            });
         });
     });
 }