How do I get an older version of Power BI Desktop?
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When you often work in different IT environments, you can easily reach the point where a customer is working with a different Power BI desktop version than the latest one. As a developer this can become a problem, because the PBIX files are generally not backward compatible to older Power BI versions. As a result, the completed work may not even be accessible to the customer.
Why the download from the Power BI Blog does not work
In the past I used to google for the wanted release article in the Power BI Blog and then download the file there. Unfortunately, this approach no longer works, as the links now all point to the latest release. This may be good for end users, but as soon as you need a specific version, it is a disadvantage.
The solution the update archive
Fortunately, there is a solution after all. Microsoft provides at the following link an archive of all releases, including updates, a video about the update and the corresponding setup files since the release in 2015.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/fundamentals/desktop-latest-update-archive
So it’s better to save the link as a favorite if you have to change the Power BI desktop version from time to time.
The different versions are listed directly on the right side of the update archive:
