Forum Discussion
Accessing Power BI Reports Without a Pro License
Hello.
If I don't have a Power BI Pro license, do I need to receive the downloaded PBIX file from the report owner in order to view the report? Are there cases where the report cannot be viewed even from the PBIX file?
Hello Lora_0121 ,
You don’t necessarily need to get the PBIX file from the original creator, anyone who already has the file can share it with you. However, if the report was only published to the Power BI Service and PBIX download is disabled, only someone with edit and download permissions (often the creator or workspace admin) can retrieve it.
If this post helps, then please give us Kudos and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
Thankyou.
5 Replies
Hi Lora_0121 ,
Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Fabric Community. Also thankyou danextian for your inputs.
No, you don’t necessarily need to receive the PBIX file to view a report. If the report is shared with you in Power BI Service, a Pro license is required unless it is hosted in a Premium Per Capacity workspace, where free users can access it.
If you receive the PBIX file, you can open it in Power BI Desktop without a license, but certain functionalities (like connecting to cloud services or refreshing datasets from the cloud) may be restricted. Also, if the report relies on Live Connection or DirectQuery to a restricted source, you may still face limitations even with the PBIX file.
If this post helps, then please give us Kudos and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
Thankyou.
Anonymous
Should I get the original PBIX file from the person who created it, or can I get it from someone else who has access to it?
Hello Lora_0121 ,
You don’t necessarily need to get the PBIX file from the original creator, anyone who already has the file can share it with you. However, if the report was only published to the Power BI Service and PBIX download is disabled, only someone with edit and download permissions (often the creator or workspace admin) can retrieve it.
If this post helps, then please give us Kudos and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
Thankyou.
Hi danextian, I activated the Power BI Premium per User License, which is documented as Premium Capacity per User. Is this now a Premium Capacity where a user with a free-license, who I granted access, can view the report I have shared ?
best regards.
