Demystifying Microsoft Teams Rooms (Windows) application releases

Petri-X , I will try to answer your questions one by one below:

At least one question came to my mind, when there are those four different clients, then what possibilities we do have to check which versions we do have from each of them? Let say, we have one of 30 rooms misbehaving, so obviously one thing to verify are the client versions. Can we get all different client versions with single PS command from all of the devices?
The only information that you need to know is Windows store application version. As long as, the version matches to the latest released application as indicated on the release notes page, you should be good. Windows store application version information is also available from various other places in the application and from Teams Admin Center.
Setting page About tab has app version information as shown below:  

App verion is also available to end users when reporting issue from their MTR device from Give feedback dialog. (Assuming admins have enabled this functionality in settings). 

You can also find this information from Teams Admin Center (TAC) under software health. 

On the text you said: "Although the Teams web app updates are not new", but when looking for release notes of MTR, the web app looks relative new.

I'd suggest you read the blog again and go through articles linked within it. All information is included in the blog or linked articles. Web app updates are not new, see here are release notes from July 2019, that's like 2.5 years ago and see the callout for features rolling out using Microsoft Teams Service. That's what is Teams web app. You are correct that release notes format has changed recently a bit. 

About the previews, I would like to ask what is the different between "preview" and "public preview"? Today, when we are no participating to the preview program we still can see features with "preview" tag. Does it means, those features with "preview" tags, will vanish and all of them will be available only on "public previews"? It is quite confusing when Microsoft says you could joins to public previews, but you can already see "preview" in many different places (outside MTR as well).

Good question and I can see how this could cause confusion. Public preview is a program that customers can enroll into for early validation of the features before it gets deployed broadly. This is optional opt-in.
Some Microsoft products and features may add a "Preview" mark to the feature that is made generally available. This is not a program or an opt-in but is included in certain (rare) cases where there is enough value in the MVP experience of feature/ product, but the experience is not complete yet. This helps setting right expectations with end users. These features are usually iterative that learn from usage patterns or AI based features that learn and get better with data. 

The public preview has been Microsoft answer for customer's worries that we do not have time to prepare end users to the coming changes. I'm not sure does that actually solves it really. Others who do have experiences from that could perhaps clarify. But in a smaller companies the cycle might be just too fast. Somehow I feels the preview time was about one month, but could be wrong.

Thanks for your input on duration of public preview program. Please note there are many other tools available for change management such as product public roadmaps, Message Center posts to announce and describe upcoming changing in addition to public preview program. As any modern online service, we will continue to evolve public preview program and customer validation of features for Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Rooms. Your input here is very helpful. fyi  Kaushal-Mehta , AlexanderIvanov 

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LotharMueller , You should only look at Teams rooms Store application version, it's available from Teams room app and Teams admin center. Store application should auto update. If this is not happening for you, please log a support ticket so we can help see what might be causing your device to not download app automatically. Please note, web app version is not exposed to customers across any Teams client, only client app version. This is example of Teams desktop client. 

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MarkL Managed service should have the room app version already. IrenaA ? 

Sohail_Tariq 

Big thanks for clarifying this as you promised.

At least one question came to my mind, when there are those four different clients, then what possibilities we do have to check which versions we do have from each of them? Let say, we have one of 30 rooms misbehaving, so obviously one thing to verify are the client versions. Can we get all different client versions with single PS command from all of the devices?

I'm also a bit unsure did I really got clarification between UWP app and Web App 😄

On the text you said: "Although the Teams web app updates are not new", but when looking for release notes of MTR, the web app looks relative new.

About the previews, I would like to ask what is the different between "preview" and "public preview"? Today, when we are no participating to the preview program we still can see features with "preview" tag. Does it means, those features with "preview" tags, will vanish and all of them will be available only on "public previews"? It is quite confusing when Microsoft says you could joins to public previews, but you can already see "preview" in many different places (outside MTR as well).

The public preview has been Microsoft answer for customer's worries that we do not have time to prepare end users to the coming changes. I'm not sure does that actually solves it really. Others who do have experiences from that could perhaps clarify. But in a smaller companies the cycle might be just too fast. Somehow I feels the preview time was about one month, but could be wrong.

But please, continue sharing these, these are useful posts.

Sohail_Tariq 

Thanks for the explanations. Store application was auto updated tonight, right shortly before I started to log a support ticket. 

Great good looking stuff and a long desired refresh!! (I like "front row"!!)

Keep it up!!!

"web app version is not exposed to customers": But this would be great it could be seen somewhere, perhaps on the AdminCenter for a running or finished call/meeting. I think it makes fewer sense on the MTR itself, becaue it could change beween to meetings, if I understand correctly. 

I think confusion for me (in the last few month) was coming from this article:

Release notes for Microsoft Teams Rooms - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs

Now a long time there "Teams Web-Client release" was the in first position of the table. So I thougt my MTR is not up to date. More confusing was that in the table it seems that the "Teams Web-Client release" is rolled out through Store (nightly reboot) because there is a collum "Published to Microsoft Store"

and the "Teams Web-Client release" phrase was't absolote clear for me, now it is.

Now the documententation was changed and the "Teams Web-client updates happen via the Teams web app delivery...." was added. This clarifies the situation (I read it first time while I was typing this comment).

As input to you, if it follows a seperate Versioning, and a different deployment/delivery methods it would be great if there where two separate Tables.

Thanks from Germany

MarkL 

With PS you could pull the app version:

Invoke-Command -ComputerName MTRDeviceName -ScriptBlock { Get-AppxPackage -User Skype -Name *room* }  | ft PSComputerName, Name, Version

This of course requires you do have access to all of the devices.

And if you do have .CSV file with all devices, then you could collect all of them using "import-csv" CMDLet and export (Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation) that to .CSV file.

But I fully agree, it is shame that details you can get by TAC the Teams PS module does not offer. We could only hope that change in one day.

Sohail_Tariq 

Many thanks for sharing this. This clarifies many things and especial enables me to answer some costumer questions. But one question like Petri-X retains. Where can i see which web client version is used in the active meeting, because some published features aren't visible

One more: UWP App retains on old version multiple weeks until I do an manual upgrade via script from ms docs, although the nightly reboot is done as expected. Any sugested log files I can check?

Regards from Germany

Be great to see these app versions in the table of the "Rooms" view in Teams Rooms Managed Service portal.

MarkL 

Unfortunatly Teams Rooms Managed Service portal is only available to "Premium" costumers, isn't it?

Really appreciate this level of detail being shared and the questions being answered

thanks!

Sohail_Tariq - app version is there, but you have to click on each individual MTR to see it. Would be much better to have it in the main list view as one of the columns, and to be able to sort / filter on version to easily identify if any rooms were not on the expected version.

LotharMueller - correct, MTR Managed Service Portal requires the MTR premium licence SKU.