Skype for Business Mac Client March 2017 Update Summary – Note UCWA dependencies

There been a new March 2017 update released for the Skype for Business Mac Clients. This could be cumulative update 4 i cant see it mentioning cu version anywhere at the mo so its march update for the SfB Mac Client with a lot of new features and bugs addressed which is great and shows Microsoft hard work with improving the mac client.

The March 2017 update brings a huge number of new features and improvement to the Mac client which is great !

Be careful though as some functionality is dependent on if your running Lync Server 2013, SfB Server 2015 or SfB Online. Only SfB online has all the functionality available. Please see below in the UCWA dependencies section.

More info check out on info on Tech Community here

Updating

You can AutoUpdate or the Manual download link if below. Suspect the new update will be there soon.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54108

March 2017 Update Version Number

With 28th March 2017 update – 16.5.0.185

Features Added / Bugs

There’s a lot of new features added and also a good number bug fixes which are from Microsoft Tech Community site.

Features Added	Details
Users can now add delegates to “My Delegates” group in contact group and set call routing preferences to delegates
Delegates can see who has made them a delegate.
Delegates can make calls on behalf of a delegator.	Note: Delegate/delegator features are currently available for Skype for Business Online customers only. More features to come.
Users can add a separate audio setting for a “ringing” device.
Users are prompted to switch to device when user plugs in USB device.
Added “Groups” button to the Contact Card and detailed Contact views, so users can quickly add other users to their contact list.
Users can call and send IMs to the DL and Groups via the Group Contact Card.
Messages are now separated by date.
Added support for option SIP URIs in chat window.
Admins can set the email and username with user profiles
Users will now occasionally be prompted to rate their call experience


Further Improvements / Bug Fixes
Fixed a false warning about Conversation History availability when the computer resumes.
Fixed an issue about users not receiving an error message when trying to sign in to Skype for Business on Mac on a network that uses network proxy server without configuring the HTTP proxy setting.
Fixed various headset mute/unmute problems.
Fixed issues related to muting and connectivity.
Fixed issues related to muting and connectivity.	Note: Existing meetings scheduled by Mac client on Skype Room Systems must be rescheduled for fixes to apply.
Users will be prompted to sign in to Exchange for meeting and calendar updates, if they are not already signed in to Exchange.
Improved screen sharing in 1:1 conversations.
Improved ending a call — some users could not end call when in the lobby.
Improvements to voice-over announcements and other accessibility improvements
Changed the position of the message “Your microphone is muted” and call controls
Implemented other UI improvements and bug fixes.
Fixed crash issues.

PLEASE NOTE – UCWA Dependencies !!!

Client functionality is now also based on UCWA dependencies in the server version and from the screenshot below taken from Tech Community training here and academy recording here you can see that Lync Server 2013 is missing the most functionality, followed by SfB Server and Skype for Business Online has all client functionality.

This is key to understanding new features and the dependency they have with the server version and UCWA. For all functionality you need to be running SfB Online, sorry server guys

Don’t forget about Known Issues

Its worth reading over these as there’s quite a few ! – Updated 28th March 2017

E911 support required SfB Server CU4 or Lync Server 2013 CU8 HF2 – Please make sure you have these updates deployed if you require E-911 services. It does state the below in grey though. Also in known issues it mentions E-911 with ADFS not supported yet.

Important: Users will not be able to dial 911 until the CU4 server update is applied.

Also mentions the requirement for mobility again and the requirements for the latest SfB Servers and Lync Server 2013 CUs if you don’t have mobility enabled.

Other known issues that took my interest are below but there’s more so please check them out before you get questions and helpdesk tickets.

E-911 with ADFS not supported
Presence does not automatically update to “In Meeting” based on Outlook calendar
Multiple prompts to leave meeting when pressing the hang-up button on a UC USB device
Single/tabbed window experience not available
Search contacts limitation
Desktop viewing in Skype for Business on Windows client

More known issues details check them out i recommended it.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Known-issues-Skype-for-Business-on-Mac-494ac5d5-50be-4aa7-8f5a-669c71c98c9a?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

How do i update ?

Two methods which are the same as the previous updates.

Either using the Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) if you have already deployed the SfB Mac client already ( I did try but was showing older version at the time of writing this)
Or for new users a manual download via Microsoft download centre here

Do i need to update Lync / SfB Servers ?

For the March 2017 CU the requirements server side are the same as previous SfB Mac Client Cumulative updates but on the known issues page there are two important things to note, the first around E911 support which is very important and the second the requirement for mobility to be enabled if you don’t have the latest CUs deployed for Lync Server 2013 or SfB Server 2015. Details are below.

911 support requires Skype for Business Server 2015 CU4 (build 9319.272 or higher, now available) or Lync Server 2013 CU8 HF2 (8308.974) here.

Important: Users will not be able to dial 911 until the CU4 server update is applied.

Without Skype for Business Server 2015 CU4 (build 9319.272 or higher, now available) or Lync Server 2013 CU8 HF2 or higher, now available), Skype for Business on Mac requires Mobility enablement on the server side. After updating to builds 9317.272 or 8309.973, Mobility enablement will no longer be required.

It does note under the manual download detail that’s its recommended for the best user experience to ensure customers are running the latest Server side cumulative updates for both SfB and Lync Server 2013. Or it mentions move to Office365 for always up to date infrastructure which made me smile. Downloads link are below.

SfB Server 2015 (9319.272) – November 2016 CU4 here
Lync Server 2013 (8308.974) – November 2016 CU8 HF2 here
Lync Server 2010 – SfB Client not supported I’m afraid so it suggests Mac 2011 client only.

System requirements for Mac
OSX 10.11 (El Capitan) or OSX 10.12 (Sierra)
Outlook Mac build 15.27 (161010) required for Outlook integration

Client Functionality and Client Comparison

Also worth checking out the Client comparison tables for Skype for Business Server 2015 with the new update so you know differences between windows and Mac clients.

Interesting it now notes separate client comparison for Skype for Business Server 2015 and Lync Server 2013

SfB Server list – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn933896.aspx

Lync Server 2013 list – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg425836(v=ocs.15).aspx

Screenshots of AutoUpdate , Manual Process and couple of new features

Booted my iMac up and first got asked to update the Microsoft AutoUpdate Tool. I’ve not booted my mac in a while.

clicked restart app

Seems the new version via AutoUpdate isn’t there yet.

Seem the version available in auto update is the December update. I thought this was applied but lets go.

I also tried Insider Slow and inside fast but both showed no new updates.

So perhaps the CU4 update version isn’t available on AutoUpdate just yet.

Manual Install

Find the package in downloads

Nice touch to ask to trash the installer

Checked version using SfB > About.

Manual download is the March 2017 version, not sure why AutoUpdate wasn’t updating to this version yet but I’m sure it will soon. i had this with the last update.

New Delegates