Turn off automatic update of power bi desktop software (for reports server)

[ak1620]

Hello All,

PBIDesktopRS_x64 (October 2020) installed on a machine is being automatically updated to latest May 2021 version daily. Tried multiple uninstalls and re-installs to get it back to (October 2020). How do i disable Microsoft Power BI Desktop (for reports server) from being automatically updated on a machine.

[d_gosbell]

So there are 3 different installs of Power BI Desktop and you can have them installed side-by-side (and I have had all 3 installed on my machine for the last 4 years)

• The version from the Microsoft Store
  (this is the only one that auto-updates and it's the MS store that does the updating, not PBI Desktop)
• The msi download for the cloud version
  (this does not auto update, but does prompt that a new version is available)
• The Report Server version
  (this neither auto-updates or prompts when a newer version has released)

Are you sure you have the correct msi version installed? (it will have a small black "RS" in the lower right corner of the icon)

Or that you possibly have 2 versions installed?

[vipultyagi]

I believe so. I saw RS and was wondering what RS means... so thank you, it addresses my curiosity.
Here the MSI: PBIDesktopRS_x64.msi

version: 2.100.1381.0

[d_gosbell]

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@vipultyagi wrote:

I believe so. I saw RS and was wondering what RS means... so thank you, it addresses my curiosity.
Here the MSI: PBIDesktopRS_x64.msi

version: 2.100.1381.0

---

hmm, that is definitely the right msi for the RS version. Sorry, but I have no explanation for why your version would have updated. That is not supposed to happen.

[blodus]

This happened to me over the last week. 

I had PBI for Report Server Jan 2023 installed because the latest version won;t work with server version (JFC MS).

It was a f^cking nightmare getting the right version (FUM MS) to install and work with our report server.

Now I'm having problems deploying to RS and find out the my laptop version is now May 2023. WTF?!?!?

Typical half-assed MS problems.

[d_gosbell]

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@blodus wrote:

Now I'm having problems deploying to RS and find out the my laptop version is now May 2023. WTF?!?!?

The either means you still do not have the correct version installed since the Report Server version does not have any auto updating mechanism.

Or someone in your IT department has deployed an update when they should not have.

The version of desktop for the Jan 2023 server can be downloaded from this list Download Microsoft Power BI Report Server - January 2023 from Official Microsoft Download Center

[vipultyagi]

Interestingly, I found that in the windows registry for PBI Desktop, I found link to MS site that has an JSON that states the next update version to be May 2022. Now this is beyond my level of understanding, but an interesting find. 

[d_gosbell · Accepted solution]

There is no built-in auto update mechanism for Power BI Desktop for RS. The only version of Power BI Desktop that auto updates is the cloud version that you install from the Microsoft store. Any of the versions that you manually install from an .exe or .msi file do not auto update. If you are seeing this behaviour it is most likely because your IT department has some sort of automated deployment mechanism which is doing this so you will need to contact them to sort this out.

[vipultyagi]

My IT is using MSI to install, yet it was automatically updated. Our issue is that our on-prem PBI Server can not be upgraded at the same rate. Any help to stop the auto-upgrade is high appreciated. 

[d_gosbell]

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@vipultyagi wrote:

My IT is using MSI to install, yet it was automatically updated. 

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This is not possible. There is no autoupdater in the msi installer and the Report Server version of Power BI Desktop does not even prompt users that there is a new version to install. The only explanation here is that someone has installed the incorrect version of desktop

[vipultyagi]

That is what I'm confused with as well. I didn't believe others till it happened to me on my machine. I had a Jan 2022 PBI Desktop installed with an MSI that I myself downloaded. And one fine day I found May 2022 on my machine with Jan 2022 no longer there. I didn't update it; I didn't click yes to any updates; my IT didn't update it; no other auto updates. So far, it is a mystery that I'm trying to unravel.