Skype for Business Mac Client April 2018 Updates !

There’s been a big update to the Skype for Business for Mac client this month ! this follows the recent February update.

Some features are only SfB Online so watch out of this. Ive tried to highlight below.

Version – 16.16.0.102

Released – 3rd April 2018

Updating

New version – 16.16.0.102
Manual Download Link – here
For updates you can use Microsoft AutoUpdate or download and install manually from the above URL.

Client requirements (Same as previous updates)

Skype for Business Server 2015 or Lync Server 2013 (doesn’t mention SfB Online but it will be supported im sure)
OSX 10.11 (El Capitan) or OSX 10.12 (Sierra) – Same as previous
Outlook Mac build 15.27 (161010) required for Outlook integration – Same as previous

SfBO / Lync Server 2013 / SfB Server 2015 requirements (Same as previous updates)

Skype for Business Server 2015 customers minimum CU of Skype for Business Server 2015 Cumulative Update version 9319.272 or higher.
Lync Server 2013 CU Lync Server 2013 Cumulative Update version 8308.974 or higher. Mentions Lync Server 2013 should upgrade to SfB Server 2015.
Lync Server 2010 is not supported – instead we recommend customers continue to use the Lync for Mac 2011 client.

First off lets have a look at what’s new in the April 2018 Update?

There’s a lot of big things here! With adding delegates without being enabled for Enterprise Voice ! This is SfB Online ONLY at the moment and mentions will be available with SfB Server with later update.

Setting location for E-911 and call back for poor networks is great. ! I would imagine this is big update for SfB Mac users!

Add delegates without being enabled for Enterprise Voice (This is SfB Online ONLY at the moment and mentions will be available with SfB Server with later update)
Callback when on a poor network connection
Use drag and drop or copy and paste to send images and files in 1-on-1 chats (SfB Server users required December 2017 CU applied!!)
Set a location for E-911 calls – Note the known issues and requirements for E-911 for SfB Server 2015! More below.
Choose whether to see emoticons in chats

Mentioned as improvement below and not new but we also have – Added support for Video-based screen sharing (VbSS) in 1-to-1 calls. (Skype for Business Online only)

Also how about Improvements?

Alot of meeting related fixes and addition of VbSS in peer to peer calls for SfB Online users only

Fixed several issues that could prevent a user from seeing screen sharing in a meeting.
Fixed an issue that prevented an error message being displayed when the app fails to sign in.
Fixed an issue that prevented a user from rejoining a meeting or call after hanging up.
Fixed an issue that incorrectly showed the message “You were disconnected from the presentation due to network issues.” when joining a meeting.
Added support for Video-based screen sharing (VbSS) in 1-to-1 calls. (Skype for Business Online only)
Improved performance of starting and updating screen sharing.

But don’t forget about Known issues!

Please don’t forget to make note of these as well, this was last updated 14th March 2018 with the latest issues listed as below.

Latest issues added or updated –

IM notification for emergency calls not sent to a distribution list
E-911 support – This has strict requirements for SfB Server customers so make sure you check them out !
Conference access settings do not default to values defined by policy when scheduling a meeting from Outlook on Mac
In Outlook, cannot join a meeting from a non-federated organization

Again E-911 is listed, there are dependencies for E-911 with SfB Server check out

Support for E-911 emergency calls made from Skype for Business on Mac has the following requirements for on-premises servers:

Skype for Business on Mac version 16.11 or later.
Skype for Business Server 2015, December 2017 update or Lync Server 2013, November 2016 update (CU8 HF1).
Enable911 in CsPlatformServiceSettings must be true.
West Safety Services customers: Emergency Gateway Version 5.4.
EnhancedEmergencyServicesEnabled property of the user’s location policy is enabled. (Note: it is not sufficient to enable EnhancedEmergencyServicesEnabled on the location policy applied to the network site of the subnet to which the user is connected.)