The classic Microsoft Teams client will reach its End of Life (EOL) very soon, and virtual desktop administrators have important actions to take to enable the new Teams client.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT
The classic Teams for VDI will reach end of support on October 1, 2024. After that date, users will not be able to use classic Teams and will instead be prompted to switch to new Teams. Microsoft recommends updating to new Teams today, so virtual desktop administrators will need to address necessary upgrades to support the new version.
For more information, see: End of availability for classic Teams client.
IMPORTANT DATES
- From March 2024, all users will see the “Try the new Teams” toggle
- On October 1, 2024, the classic Teams client in VDI will reach end of support
- On July 1, 2025, the classic Teams client in VDI will reach end of availability and will no longer work
Microsoft resources for more information
- The new Microsoft Teams
- End of availability for classic Teams client
- Upgrade to new Teams for Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS
The new Microsoft Teams will run on supported Windows OS versions, and will not support specific versions of Windows Server or Windows 10:
| SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS | UNSUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS |
| Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows 11 Windows 10 21H2 or above | Windows Server 2016 Windows 10 2004 and below |
WHAT TO DO
Upgrade to Supported Software
Here’s what you need to upgrade to supported software configurations to run the new Teams.
| AZURE VIRTUAL DESKTOP | CITRIX DAAS / VIRTUAL APPS AND DESKTOPS | VMWARE HORIZON | |
| Windows multi-session, Windows Server 2022 | Upgrade to FSLogix 2210 hotfix 3 | Upgrade to FSLogix 2210 hotfix 3, or Citrix Profile Management 2308+ | Upgrade to FSLogix 2210 hotfix 3, or upgrade to VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2111+ |
| Windows Server 2019 | Wait for FSLogix 2210 hotfix 4* | Wait for FSLogix 2210 hotfix 4*, or upgrade to Citrix Profile Management 2308+ | Wait for FSLogix 2210 hotfix 4, or upgrade to VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2111+ |
| Windows Server 2016 | Upgrade to Windows Server 2022 | Upgrade to Windows Server 2022 | Upgrade to Windows Server 2022 |
| Windows single session pooled | Upgrade to FSLogix 2210 hotfix 3 | Wait for FSLogix 2210 hotfix 4, or upgrade to Citrix Profile Management 2308+ | Upgrade to FSLogix 2210 hotfix 3, or upgrade to VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2111+ |
| Windows single session personal | Supports in-place upgrade | Supports in-place upgrade | Supports in-place upgrade |
| Minimum system software | WebRTC Redirector Service 1.1.2110.16001 | VDA 1912 CU6 2203 LTSR (and any CU) 2212 CR | Horizon 8 2111 ESB (8.4) |
| Minimum client | Remote Desktop Client for Windows 1.2.1755 Remote Desktop Client for Mac 10.7.7 | Windows 2203 LTSR Windows 2302 CR Linux 2207 Mac 2302 Chrome/HTML5 2301 | |
| More reading | Use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop | Microsoft Teams 2.1 supported for VDI/DaaS | Microsoft Teams Optimization with VMware Horizon |
*Windows Server 2019 is expected to be supported in a future FSLogix update to be available before June 2024; however, Microsoft has not provided official information on the next release of the FSLogix agent.
VALIDATE OPTIMIZATIONS FOR MICROSOFT TEAMS
For Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop, refer to the optimization configurations in this article: Use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop
For Citrix DaaS and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops environments running Microsoft Teams 2.1 there are several small configuration changes required for optimized delivery: Optimization for Microsoft Teams | Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 2311
For VMware Horizon environments running Microsoft Teams 2.1, refer to the optimization recommendations here: Microsoft Teams Optimization with VMware Horizon
ALTERNATIVES
If you need to run any of the following software after this date:
- Windows Server 2016 or below
- Windows 10 2004 or below
- FSLogix 2210 hotfix 2 or below
- Citrix Profile Management 2305 or below
- VMware Horizon 2106 or below
| ALTERNATIVE #1 | ALTERNATIVE #2 |
| Microsoft Teams can be run as a web application within the virtual desktop: New Teams for Web – Overview and prerequisites. Running Teams as a Progressive Web App will give the appearance of a desktop application: Use Progressive Web Apps in Microsoft Edge. Customers may want to limit Teams usage in this scenario to chat and collaboration only (i.e. no voice or video). Multimedia optimizations might assist in improving performance; however, these optimizations will not work for all use-cases: Use multimedia redirection on Azure Virtual Desktop | Use Microsoft Teams from an iOS or Android mobile device, particularly for video and voice. Users can securely access Microsoft Teams on a corporate mobile device managed with Microsoft Intune. Access to Microsoft Teams can also be enabled with mobile application management with Teams to ensure secure access from personal devices. |
Optimize Your Virtual Desktop Environments
Insentra has extensive experience with designing, implementing, uplifting and optimising virtual desktop environments to support Microsoft Teams and other unified communication software, across Azure Virtual Desktop, Citrix DaaS and VMware Horizon.
To find out how we can aid you in moving to the supported software versions and improve your user experience please reach out to us and we can provide more information.
Additionally, we are experts in Microsoft Intune. To support secure access Microsoft Teams and the Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android devices, we can work with you to enable modern management using Microsoft Intune and Entra ID. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Intune eBook.
Download your copy of this guide on How to Migrate from Classic Teams to Teams 2.0.
