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Remotely configure Power BI app using mobile device management (MDM) tool

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The Power BI mobile app for iOS and Android supports app settings that allow administrators of mobile device management (MDM) services, such as Intune, to customize the behavior of the app.

The Power BI mobile app supports the following configuration scenarios:

  • Report Server configuration (iOS and Android)
  • Data protection settings (iOS and Android)
  • Disable single sign-on (iOS and Android)
  • Interaction settings (iOS and Android)
  • Launch item configuration (iOS and Android)

Report server configuration (iOS and Android)

The Power BI app for iOS and Android allows administrators to remotely "push" the Report Server configuration to enrolled devices.

Key Type Description
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.ServerURL String Report Server URL.

Should start with http/https.
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.ServerUsername String [optional]

The username to use for connecting the server.

If one doesn't exist, the app prompts the user to type the username for the connection.
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.ServerDisplayName String [optional]

Default value is "Report server".

A friendly name used in the app to represent the server.
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.OverrideServerDetails Boolean [optional]

Default value is True. When set to True, it overrides any Report Server definition already in the mobile device. Existing servers that are already configured are deleted. Override set to True also prevents the user from removing that configuration.

Set to False adds the pushed values, leaving any existing settings. If the same server URL is already configured in the mobile app, the app leaves that configuration as is. The app doesn't ask the user to reauthenticate for the same server.

Data protection settings (iOS and Android)

The Power BI mobile app for iOS and Android offers administrators the ability to customize the default configuration for security and privacy settings. For iOS, you can force users to provide their Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode when accessing the Power BI mobile app. For Android, you can force users to use biometric authentication (Fingerprint ID).

Key Type Description
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.ForceDeviceAuthentication Boolean Default value is False.

Biometrics, such as TouchID or FaceID (iOS) or Fingerprint ID (Android), can be required for users to access the app on their device. When required, biometrics are used in addition to authentication.

If using app protection policies, Microsoft recommends disabling this setting to prevent dual access prompts.

Note

Data protection settings are applied only on Android devices that support biometric authentication.

Disable single sign-on (iOS and Android)

By default the Power BI mobile app provides a convenient single sign-on experience for a user by minimizing the number of times the user has to provide a username and password. This single sign-on behavior is based on the assumption that the device is the user's personal device, and that there's only one user who uses the device and the apps on it.

Admins can turn on the DisableSingleSignOn setting in the app config file to remotely configure the app to disable single sign-on and explicitly ask for the user's password when they sign in.

This is an admin-only setting that is configured via remote configuration. The end user can't change this setting.

Key Type Description
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.DisableSingleSignOn Boolean Default value is False.

After a user signs out, the app won't reuse existing credentials, but will ask the next user to provide a password in order to authenticate and connect to the Power BI service.

Interaction settings (iOS and Android)

The Power BI app for iOS and Android offers administrators the ability to configure interaction settings if it's decided that default interaction settings need to be changed across groups of users in an organization.

Note

Not all the interactions are currently supported on all devices. See Configure report interaction settings for a chart that shows the current availability across devices.

Key Type Values Description
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.ReportTapInteraction String single-tap
double-tap		 Configure whether a tap on a visual will also make a data point selection.
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.EnableMultiSelect Boolean True
False		 Configure whether a tap on a data point will replace the current selection or be added to the current selection.
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.RefreshAction String pull-to-refresh
button		 Configure whether the user will have a button to refresh the report or should use pull to refresh.
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.FooterAppearance String docked
dynamic		 Configure whether the report footer will be docked to the bottom of the report or autohidden.

Launch item configuration (iOS and Android)

If groups of users in an organization always need to get to a specific report, dashboard, scorecard, or app, admins can configure that item as a launch item for them. A launch item is an item that opens upon app startup instead of the usual app home page. Launch items save users time by getting them immediately to the content they need. They don't have to waste time navigating to it every time they open their app.

When an admin has configured a launch item for a group of users, those users will be able to accept it or reject it. If they reject it, they can configure their own launch item, or they can just not use any launch item at all.

A launch item can be a report, a specific report page, a dashboard, a scorecard, an app, or even a specific report within an app. The admin can have the launch item open for users in full screen mode by including the query parameter ?fullScreen=1 in the URI used to specify the launch item.

Key Type Description
com.microsoft.powerbi.mobile.LaunchItemURI URI/String Any valid URI to a report, report page, dashboard, scorecard, app, or report within an app.

To get a valid URL, use one of the following methods:

  • Open the desired launch item in the Power BI service and then copy the URL from the browser's address bar.

  • Copy the link from the item's Share option.

  • For apps - from within the app

For more information about launch items, see Choose a launch item for your Power BI mobile app.

Deploy app configuration settings

The following are the steps you need to create an app configuration policy. Once you've created the configuration policy, you can assign its settings to groups of users.

  1. Connect your MDM tool.
  2. Create and name a new app configuration policy.
  3. Choose which users to distribute this app configuration policy to.
  4. Create key-value pairs for the setting you want to push to your users.

The Intune portal enables administrators to easily deploy these settings to the Power BI app via app configuration policies by selecting Apps > App configuration policies > Add > Managed devices. For further information, see Add app configuration policies for managed iOS/iPadOS devices. However, any MDM provider is supported. If you aren't using Intune, you need to consult with your MDM documentation about how to deploy these settings.

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