Power BI license issue

Leon McGee III 0 Reputation points
2026-10-14T19:19:04.5033333+00:00

User had a trial start for PowerBI Pro, and now that the trial has expired he is unable to even use the Free license features. There is an entire rat's nest of license stipulations for PowerBI and conflicting guidance from support articles. User starts getting error message that he needs to upgrade to a paid PowerBI license today when viewing published Marketing reports in Teams. User had the 60 trial of Pro activated and then expired, he is now back to a "Free" PowerBI license -I checked the "Workspace" where we are publishing that report and semantic model, it is still set to "Power BI Pro" (not using Fabric or any of the other elevated workspace types that require higher user licenses) -I sent him another report from a different Sales workspace and user got the same error (to confirm that the issue wasn't isolated to the original workspace requiring elevated user license) -I asked another free user to check that they could still view that Sales report and they are able to view it -I pinned the sales report in a tab in Teams for user to view to confirm that it wasn't a context issue about embedded reports, external URLs, browser vs teams, etc. He is unable to view the report in teams (while the other free user can) In general, Free users can view reports but only shared internally (like pinning the report in Teams). There will be some support articles that say Free users can't view reports but that is only true for "externally" published reports, or if the report is embedded, and some other contexts. We have just about everyone here viewing reports on Teams, so it is a real feature and not just a one person "fluke" that they can view reports. A lot of article/forum posts get hung up on Free licenses using PowerBI on the desktop app, or creating/publishing reports on a Free license, but we're just viewing internal reports. (For instance, this lovely forum from 4 years ago having the same issue we have and the "Solution" guy not understanding what the original poster is saying -https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/discussions/power-bi-web-app/user-cant-access-reports-in-powerbi-with-a-free-license-after-the-end-of-a-trial/2756101 ) I think we may need help in the admin settings for user account to try resetting his PowerBI license (if possible?). The other thing we need help with is whether you can assist us with the setting to bar users from starting a trial in the future (to avoid this happening again)?

As an admin I removed the Power BI license from the users apps in Entra admin. Advised user to sign out and sign back in but still received the below error message while the license was attached (PowerBI Fabric license).[image]

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For business | Other
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  1. Kai-L 20,120 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-14T20:25:23.87+00:00

    Dear Leon,

    As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly check your tenant or user licenses to diagnose and fix this for you. Unfortunately, my role here is limited to providing general guidance and solutions that can be applied by users. 

    The key issue is likely not a corrupted user license. From my research, a free user can view shared reports only when the report and its dependencies are stored in a workspace assigned to qualifying capacity, such as Power BI Premium capacity or Fabric F64 or higher. Shared content in a normal Power BI Pro/shared-capacity workspace requires the viewer to have Power BI Pro. Pinning the report in Teams does not change that licensing requirement. Therefore, if the workspace license mode shows Power BI Pro, the affected user’s expired Pro trial explains the upgrade prompt.

    As for why your other "free" user can still view the report, they most likely have Power BI Pro through another license. For example: Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5 both include Power BI Pro. In Power BI, have both users select their profile picture and select View account > Subscriptions to check. Also compare their assignments under Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Users > Active users > Licenses and apps.

    To restore access, you have two options:

    • Assign Power BI Pro to the affected user. This is the direct fix while the reports stay in Pro workspaces.
    • Move the workspaces to qualifying capacity (Fabric F64+ or Premium) if you want free users to view shared content without Pro.

    Please also make sure the user keeps their Fabric (Free) license. Removing it can stop them from accessing Power BI at all.

    If you assign Power BI Pro and the upgrade message continues after several hours:

    1. Confirm the Power BI Pro service plan is enabled.
    2. Have the user sign out of Teams, app.powerbi.com, and Microsoft 365.
    3. Close all browser and Teams sessions.
    4. Revoke the user’s sign-in sessions in Microsoft Entra ID.
    5. Test directly at app.powerbi.com in an InPrivate window before testing the Teams tab.
    6. If direct Power BI access still shows Free, open a Microsoft support case for license provisioning.

    To stop users starting trials in the future:

    1. Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Settings > Org settings.
    2. Open Self-service trials and purchases.
    3. Locate the relevant Power BI and Microsoft Fabric trial products.
    4. Set them to Do not allow so administrators centrally control license assignment. 

    In the Fabric admin portal, also check the tenant setting that lets users try Microsoft Fabric paid features.

    For reference: 

    Power BI Features Available to Free Users - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

    Power BI service features by license type - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

    Licenses and Subscriptions for Business Users - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

    Manage self-service purchases and trials (for admins) | Microsoft Learn

    I hope this information helps clarify the situation and provides you with workable solutions. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm always happy to help. Have a wonderful day! 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

    Note: Please follow the steps in the forum documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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