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Power Automate
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Power Apps Licensing

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Posted on by 18
Hi Team,
 
I created one Power App in which SQL was the database and also called some Power Automate flows in the app. These flows were hitting some API and was fetching some data. One developer environment was created in this service account to create the app. The Plan(s) in setting was showing as Power Apps for Office 365. They were using this app since Feb 2025 for testing and UAT purpose. After this, I created a solution using the app, flows etc. and deployed it in different service account in Production environment. The Plan(s) in setting was showing as Power Apps Per User Plan. To make the project go live, I shared the production app with the users, and they were able to use the app. Now, the issue is nobody is able to use the app. It shows they don't have any Power App plan. Earlier also, they had no Power App plan as such. Want to understand if it was licensing issue then why did it work earlier for more than 3 months when the app was created in a developer environment and shared with the users. Now, when we shared the app created in production environment. It didn't even work for 2 months. Can anyone please explain?
 
Any help is much appreciated.
 
Kind Regards,
Jyoti Bora
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  • Suggested answer
    Daniel Bocklandt Profile Picture
    5,099 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at
     

    Great question — this kind of licensing confusion is quite common when moving from dev to prod.

    Here’s what likely happened:

     

    Why it worked earlier (in Developer Environment):

     
    • Developer environments come with a free Power Apps Per User license (only for the owner of the environment — usually a service account or developer).

    • Apps built there can be tested by the owner and shared with others, but external users might access them temporarily depending on the connectors used.

    • Since your flows used premium connectors (SQL + API), only licensed users should have access, but in test/UAT, this might have slipped through due to caching, trial grace periods, or because the test users were actually using the app indirectly through the service account.


    •  

    Why it stopped working in Production:

     
    • Production environments enforce licensing rules more strictly.

    • Your users don’t have Power Apps Per User or Per App plans, so once the grace period (usually 30 days or a bit more) expired, they lost access.

    • SQL and custom connectors (your API) are premium features, which are not included in the free Office 365 plan

     

    Next Steps:

     

    • You’ll need to assign either:

      • A Power Apps Per App Plan (for just this app and one user), or

      • A Power Apps Per User Plan (if they need access to multiple premium apps)

    You can buy licenses in the Microsoft 365 admin center or assign trials to confirm.

    If this solved your problem, please mark it as Solved to help others find the solution faster.
    If you found it helpful, consider giving it a Like to support each other in this community!

    Thanks, and happy building!

  • JB-07010546-0 Profile Picture
    18 on at
    Thanks for the information @DBO_DV, but my concern is why did this work for more than 3 months for dev environment. Infact I was also using the app using my personal work account but now I am also not able to use like other users. Actually, it stopped working for both environments on the same day. Also, when it was working earlier, I assume that it was using the connection that was created in the service account where the apps were created and imported in Dev and Prod environment respectively. Then, do we still need licensing or there is some change that happened in the whole licensing thing?
  • Verified answer
    Daniel Bocklandt Profile Picture
    5,099 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

    Hi Jyoti,

    Thanks for the clarification — that’s very helpful!

    What you’re describing sounds like a grace period or trial expiration, and possibly a licensing policy change that affected both environments on the same day.

    Here's what likely happened:

    Why it worked for months:

     
    • When a user runs an app with premium connectors (like SQL or custom APIs), and doesn't have a proper license, Microsoft may allow limited access for a trial or evaluation period (usually 30 days, but sometimes extended silently for internal use/testing).

    • Also, when a flow or app is triggered by a service account, the run may initially succeed because it's using that service account's connection — but this is no longer supported for end-user access without proper licensing.

     

    Microsoft changed how strictly licenses are enforced — in many tenants this started being more noticeable around early 2025, which could explain why both environments failed at once.

    Bottom line:

    Even if a connection is created by a service account:

     
    • End users still need a license to run apps using premium connectors.

    • Sharing or importing doesn’t transfer the license.

    • Grace periods can expire simultaneously for all users if they started around the same time (e.g., at first testing/deployment).

    What to do:

    Check if any users had trial licenses or if the app relied on connection owner permissions — both can fail silently once grace expires.

    You’ll likely need to assign Power Apps Per App or Per User plans to your end users now to restore access.

     

    If this solved your problem, please mark it as Solved to help others find the solution faster.
    If you found it helpful, consider giving it a Like to support each other in this community!

    Thanks, and happy building!

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