Microsoft has announced that it will cease support for Teams Rooms connections to the Skype for Business servers starting October 1, 2023. This decision comes as the company focuses on the rapid development and release of new features for Microsoft Teams Rooms.
With the phasing out of support for Skype for Business servers, Teams Rooms support will now be aligned with the Teams Desktop for Exchange server setup.
The company stated, “While the Microsoft Teams product team is rapidly releasing new features and capabilities for Microsoft Teams Rooms and continues innovating to deliver more intelligent, inclusive, and productive meeting experiences we must end support for some legacy technologies.”
Impact on On-Premises Configurations
The discontinuation will affect a limited number of customers who use on-premises configurations. As a result of this change, several meeting mode options will be unavailable on the Teams Rooms on Windows app (version 4.19) settings.
These modes include:
- Skype for Business only
- Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams (default)
- Skype for Business (default) and Microsoft Teams
Changes in Device Settings and Experience
Furthermore, all settings related to Skype for Business will be eliminated from the device settings and the setup experience. The legacy home screen, which facilitated support for Skype for Business Server in Teams Rooms on Windows, will also be discontinued. The company highlighted that earlier in the year, they introduced a “refreshed home screen experience that provides a modern look and feel and consistent experience across Teams devices.” With the upcoming changes, the setting used to opt out of this new experience, termed ‘TeamsRoomsNewExperience’, will also be removed.
Transition to Microsoft Teams
Microsoft emphasizes the enhanced capabilities of the new Microsoft Teams online service, which extends the functionalities previously offered by Skype for Business. The company is encouraging users to transition to Microsoft Teams, offering guidance on the migration process.
Last Updated on November 8, 2024 11:37 am CET
