I don't understand Microsoft's rationale and the potential consequences about having to have an email address from a school or business in order to download/use the Power BI software. ie. I'm currently working contract for my old employer, but when that contract ends, am I not going to be able to use the software anymore? That seems ridiculous, and discriminatory to contractors or unemployed.
Hi Susanne,
The good news is you don't need to have a Power BI account to download the Power BI Desktop software. Just close the window that asks you for your email address and you'll find the software still downloads. Or download Power BI Desktop from the link below, it won't ask you to sign up for it first:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45331
You can use Power BI desktop happily without a login to the Power BI service. The only thing you can't do is Publish your reports to the Power BI service.
The workaround for getting a Power BI Service account without having a work or school email address is covered here:
Note: this should be considered a temporary solution for the purpose of learning since there are restrictions to this setup with are noted at the bottom of the post above.
Mynda
