Question

Why does the Power BI mobile app not support viewing Power BI reports published to the Power BI Report Server?

"I noticed that reports published to Power BI Report Server are not accessible through the Power BI mobile app. This limitation is affecting the usability of reports for mobile users in my organization. Can you explain why this feature is unsupported and if there are any plans to include this functionality in the future?"

Answer 1

• At present, the Power BI mobile app cannot view reports published to the Power BI Report Server. This is because the app was actually designed to work with Power BI Service, which is the hyped-up feature of a cloud computing-driven solution. Power BI Report Server, on the other hand, is an on-premises offering with a different architecture than the cloud. The difference incurs a heavy cost in creating an interface such as that between the mobile app and server.
• Another reason is that the Power BI Report Server addresses specific organizational scenarios that control how data can be used according to rules set by the organization regarding governance, which require on-premise deployment. The on-premise installation will usually be provided with a specific security provision that may not be compatible and work with the mobile app's functionality. This ensures that there is better control regarding the data, but with that comes mobility limitations.
• Microsoft has not officially announced anything in that regard, but it continues to revise Power BI based on feedback from its users. It's worth keeping an eye on their updates or submitting a request regarding the priority of this feature for future releases through their User Voice platform.