How to Disable Power BI Pro Trials and Fix Self-Service Sign-Up Issues
Question details
Users can still start Power BI Pro trials even after the self-service purchase feature has been disabled by the organization.
- Product
- Power BI / Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- An administrator wants to prevent users from starting unauthorized Power BI Pro free trials.
- Observed behavior
- Power BI Pro trials remain available to users with free licenses despite self-service purchases being disabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Ensure you have Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or Billing Administrator privileges before modifying organization-wide subscription settings via PowerShell.
Disable Self-Service Sign-up Organization-Wide via PowerShell
Use this method to block users from signing up for free trials, as self-service sign-ups and purchases are controlled by separate backend settings.
Microsoft 365 treats 'self-service purchases' (buying paid licenses like Pro or Premium Per User) and 'self-service sign-ups' (claiming free or trial licenses) as two completely distinct features. Disabling purchases does not automatically stop sign-ups.
To prevent users from starting Power BI Pro trials, you must disable the self-service sign-up feature across your entire organization using the AllowAdHocSubscriptions cmdlet in PowerShell.
Right-click the Windows Start menu, select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin) to open the elevated command line.
Use the appropriate Azure AD or Microsoft Graph PowerShell module commands to connect to your organization's directory using your global administrator credentials.
Execute the command to set the AllowAdHocSubscriptions parameter to $false. This will immediately block any new users from performing self-service sign-ups for free or trial licenses.
Check the tenant settings to confirm that the AllowAdHocSubscriptions parameter is successfully updated to false.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between self-service purchase and self-service sign-up in Microsoft 365?
Self-service purchase allows users to buy paid licenses (like Power BI Pro or Premium Per User) with their own payment methods. Self-service sign-up, on the other hand, allows individuals to register for free and trial promotional licenses. These are controlled by separate administrative policies.
Why didn't disabling self-service purchases stop Power BI Pro trials?
Disabling self-service purchases only blocks users from paying for premium licenses. Because a Power BI Pro trial is considered a free promotional license by the system, it is governed by the self-service sign-up feature, which you must disable separately.
How do I check if self-service sign-up is enabled in my tenant?
You can check the status of the self-service sign-up feature by running the appropriate PowerShell cmdlet for your Azure Active Directory / Microsoft Entra ID tenant to view the current True/False value of the AllowAdHocSubscriptions parameter.
