Power BI is the most popular data analysis and measurement application today. The advantage of Power BI is to create intuitive, vivid, and customizable report dashboards while viewing the report. Although Power Bi only supports Windows, Mac users can rest assured, Lucid Gen will guide you to install Power BI for Mac (Macbook) and Windows.
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Install Power BI for Windows
Power BI and Windows are Microsoft products, so installing Power BI for Windows will be very easy. You can install Power BI Desktop through the Microsoft Store or download the installation file to install it yourself.
Get Power BI Desktop using Microsoft Store
You open the Microsoft Store application > find Power BI Desktop > click the Get button (Buy). Completely free.
Note: Power BI Desktop is for computers, and Power BI is for phones and tablets.
Download Power BI Desktop with the installation file
If you cannot download Power BI Desktop using the Microsoft Store, please download the Microsoft direct installation file and follow the instructions below.
Step 1: Open the Power BI installation file > select the language > Next (Continue).
Step 2: You check the box to accept the terms > Next (Continue).
Step 3: You click Install and Finish to complete the installation of the Power BI Desktop for Windows.
Open Power BI and enjoy your work. This is the first welcome screen, and you can turn it off or click the Get started button to log in to your account.
This is the familiar default interface of Power BI, and you can already use it.
Install Power BI for Mac (Macbook)
As you know, Power BI does not yet support applications for macOS, so to install Power BI for Mac (Macbook), you need to emulate Windows. You install Power BI like the way Windows does above.
Preparation before installing Power BI
Disable Gatekeeper and SIP
To install applications outside the App Store, especially Windows emulators, you must first disable Gatekeeper and SIP for Mac.
Download the installation files
We will use Parallels software to emulate Windows for Mac. Please download the installation files below; choose the version accordingly depending on whether your Mac is Intel or M1 (ARM).
As for Power BI Desktop, you still download the installation file directly from Microsoft. Collected, we have all the files like this picture.
- ParallelsDesktop
- Windows 10/11
- Bypass
- PBIDesktopSetup
When you are ready, we will start to emulate Windows to install Power Bi for Mac (Macbook) according to the instructions below.
Windows Emulator for Mac
Step 1: Open the file ParallelsDesktop.dmg> double click Install> select Open when there is a popup.
Step 2: Click Accept terms> enter the password to open the device when there is a popup.
Step 3: You click Continue to skip the introduction.
Step 4: Select Install Windows > click Continue.
Step 5: Parallels will automatically recognize the Windows files on your computer; if you see the correct Windows file, click Continue.
Step 6: You click Continue because other options are for PRO.
Step 7: You leave the name Windows 10 or Windows 11 depending on the version of Windows you have installed; everything else is left to default (no more ticking) > Create.
Step 8: You wait a few minutes for Parallels to install Windows on the virtual machine; after that, you can maximize the virtual machine window to use as a real Windows computer.
Step 9: Parallels will ask you to log in to your account to use; you can log in with Google quickly or create an account to log in. You will get a 14-day trial (Trial).
Step 10: To continue using Parallels after the trial has expired, install Bypass. for your Mac, there will be an app called Windows 10/11. You need to open this application to use Windows; ignore the notifications of Parallels.
Install Power BI for Mac like Windows
The whole process is hard. However, we only do it once. Now open the Microsoft Store in the virtual machine to download Power BI Desktop or use the installation file instructed in the Power BI for Windows installation section. Thus, you can use Power BI for Mac (Macbook).
While using Power BI for Mac, you should not open many other applications. Only open the applications you really need because the virtual machine also consumes a lot of RAM.
Conclusion
Hopefully, Microsoft will support Power BI for Mac in the future to make macOS users less extreme. Power BI is often used with Excel, so download Office for Mac if you don’t have it yet. If you found this article useful or have questions, feel free to leave a comment below the article. Good luck with your Power BI installation!