Enable Maps in Power BI Free Tier

This took me such a long time to figure out, and I am not any better for it.

There’s a weird permissions error that I was getting in Power BI where it would not let me add a maps visual. All I wanted to do was make a simple map, and I was being denied access. The program returned an error saying that maps “aren’t enabled for your org”. I signed up for Power BI using one of my domains that I own on Dreamhost. I am supposed to be the sole admin. What gives?

A little bit of Googling (er, Binging) and I am brought to the web Power BI console, where it is supposed to have the option to turn on maps inside an admin panel. However, when I navigated there, the credentials didn’t exist at all. I ran around the web searching for a solution for hours, and I finally found it.

I came across this Microsoft answer that solved it for me:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/cant-purchase-microsoft-365-business-basic-have-to/b1956623-ca84-4dfa-80f6-49c20f773da4

If you own your own domain, you have to log into the office 365 website where it shows you all of your apps (very few if you’re free tier). What you’re supposed to do is to go to all of your apps and select the admin console. There, you walk through the wizard and link your DNS to Microsoft. Once everything propagates and you’ve confirmed the connection, go back to Power BI and into the admin console. You’re now somehow a real admin, and can do things for your organization like enable maps:

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