Sharing SQL Connections in PowerApps and Importing Apps with SQL Connections

Applies to Product - Power Apps

What’s happening?
Customers are experiencing issues with sharing SQL connections for their PowerApps applications created using a Service Principal. When the app is shared, users are prompted to log in with a client ID and secret. Additionally, customers face challenges when importing applications with SQL Server connections into new environments, as the connections fail and prompt users to delete and re-add them.

Reason:

• The Service Principal does not support implicit sharing methods, which leads to login prompts for users when accessing shared applications.
• There may be security configurations or authentication methods that need to be set correctly in the new environment to allow successful SQL Server connections.

• To avoid prompting end users for credentials, choose an authentication type that supports implicit sharing, such as SQL Server Authentication or Windows Authentication.
• For importing applications into a new environment, consider switching to Active Directory authentication for SQL Server connections.
• Ensure that the connection references in the development environment are identical to those in the original environment.
• Verify that firewall settings allow connections to the development environment.
• If issues persist, check for any other error messages apart from the delete and re-add prompt and consider importing the app to a different environment to assess behavior.