Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android | April 2021 Updates
Published Apr 08 2021 08:00 AM 67.2K Views
Microsoft

We are thrilled to announce a number of enhancements that are now generally available on Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. From an updated calendar view to a new touch console experience, users now have more visibility of meetings and easier access to them on these devices.

 

A New Calendar on the Home Screen
In this release we are bringing a more robust calendar experience to the front of the room so you can see and join not only the current meeting but also future meetings as well. Also, all the familiar controls you need have moved alongside the calendar for a sleek, modern look.

calendar on home screen.jpg

 

Introducing A New Touch Console Experience
Formerly, the touch console experience mimicked a physical remote, where users had to use directional keys to navigate the UI. With this new experience on the touch console, users can directly interact with the console UI, similar to Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows. Check with your manufacturer to see if your device supports this new, updated touch console experience.

touch console.png

 

The touch console includes calendar functionality where you can view your current and upcoming meetings. In addition, it also features the most important meeting and calling functionality.

touch console view.png

 

Once you join a meeting, you will be able to take advantage of call functionality, toggle between gallery views, see hands that are raised, and use inclusive features such as pinning and turning on live captions.

views.png

 

Touch console is an optional peripheral and Teams Rooms on Android will continue functioning without the console. However, once touch console is paired, front-of-room controls will be hidden, and device operation will be available from the touch console.

 

More Enhancements When Using Microsoft Teams Rooms in Personal Mode
Some users may want to bring this experience to their home office to take Teams calls and meetings on a large, dedicated screen. If you are logged into a Teams Rooms on Android with a personal account, we have added convenient features that help you manage your meetings better.


You can blur your background or change it entirely. The background will persist across meetings to make things easier. This option is available through the ellipsis in the menu bar.

personal mode.png

 

Recordings can be an important way to keep those who couldn’t make it to the meeting in the loop. We are introducing an ability to start and stop recordings directly from your Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. As in all other Teams applications, you can find the “Start recording” button in the … menu.

record.png

 

For now, starting and stopping recording is only supported for personal accounts. Shared account (aka resource account) support is coming soon.


Whiteboard is a great collaboration tool. Previously, users could use Microsoft whiteboard as part of a Teams meetings, but they could not initiate a whiteboarding session. We are introducing the ability to start a whiteboarding session directly from your device. You can find “Share whiteboard” button in the … menu.

whiteboard.png

 

For now, sharing the whiteboard is only supported for personal accounts. Shared account (aka resource account) support is coming soon.


Still getting started on Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android? Check our Get Started guide here:
Get started with Teams Rooms on Android - Office Support

102 Comments
Brass Contributor

@Jaceda1 3.5 for Poly dropped last night.  According to Poly this is the changes for MTRoA

Microsoft Teams Enhancements This release supports the following enhancements if you use Microsoft Teams as a conferencing provider:

  • Improved video transmission stability
  • Support for touchscreen configuration for primary and secondary monitors
  • Improved video resolution, including support for 1080p and 540p
  • Support for three simulcast video streams
  • Video resolution improvements in low-light conditions
Copper Contributor

@Wayne Singh  Thanks for the update but that still doesn't solve the problem of using a HDMI ingest for sharing from a desktop which on the development page says getting released in June 2021, Microsoft 365 Roadmap | Microsoft 365 I would like to know which date is that going to get released as it is still showing In Development.. 

Brass Contributor

@Jaceda1 Yeah we are waiting for that too.  I just wanted to let you know what was pushed out this month.  With that I am thinking its very unlikely to come out this month.  Although I dont actually know what all of those are and havent had a chance to test.  For example what is the Support for three simulcast video stream?  Are they inbound or outbound?

Copper Contributor

I manage my Poly Studio X50 in the Teams Admin Center. But there is no update to 3.5 possible. 

 

Olix67_0-1624355365532.png

Do i have to update to 3.5 over the Poly Homepage?

 

Brass Contributor

Ok so I have had a chance to test 3.5.0 on the Poly x50 and it hasnt fixed the issue with outbound video not transmitting :(

Poly Bar - 3.5.0-344025

TC8 - 3.5.0-210489

Teams - 1449/1.0.96.2021051904 - updated on the 16th June

 

I am talking to Poly support at the moment.

 

@Olix67 I updated both of my devices (x50 and x30) via the admin portal when surfing directly to the device IP address.

WayneSingh_0-1624407860591.png

 

Microsoft

@Wayne Singh please submit a bug. Thanks!

Brass Contributor

@SandhyaRao I am talking to Poly at the moment, depending on what they say I will submit one with microsoft.  What is the best way to submit it with Microsoft please?  Just through the Office365 Admin Portal?

Copper Contributor

Hi @SandhyaRao , are you able to confirm if HDMI ingest is being released this month as indicated on the roadmap? We have just implemented a poly X30 with an X50 planned and this is a real sticking point for us!

Many thanks for keeping everyone informed.

Microsoft

Update 2 enables HDMI ingest within Teams. However, each OEM will need to do work on their end for their respective devices so when it is available on each device can vary. It is best to check with Poly on this directly. 

Iron Contributor

@PeterSefont As Sandhya explains above the HDMI sharing feature is part of the 2021 Update #2 Teams client release.  But, while that is the client version included in the recent Poly VideoOS 3.5 firmware release the HDMI sharing feature is not yet functional on the Studio X30/X50 devices.

 

This feature will be enabled and supported in a following Poly VideoOS firmware release.  You can contact your Poly sales or support channels for additional details.

Copper Contributor

@Jeff_Schertz Talking to Poly, they are saying they are waiting for Microsoft. Looking at the Microsoft roadmap it says wired HDMI ingest for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android will be released in June 2021. Just not sure who to talk to as we are not getting a clear answer.

Brass Contributor

In regards to the outbound Video issue still happening in 3.5 I have received this from Poly.

  • Customers are intermittently experiencing no video to the far end when using Teams natively on Studio X. The near end display appears to not be impacted. Although, we have made substantial progress on getting these occurrences down and it is vastly improved through inclusion of MTRoA Update #2 from MSFT into our 3.5 release, there still appears to be use cases which may result in no video to the far end. We have three issues reported to MSFT, which are currently in the process of being fixed on their side.   
  • We have found that the failure is more frequent with Meet Now initiated meetings (PC client invites Studio X to meet now, TC8 send meet now invite, etc.) and less likely to fail in P2P calls.

 

While this doesn't help with our users frustration, at least we know its acknowledged and being looked at.  Please MS fix this as soon as possible.

Copper Contributor

The latest Update of the Logitech Rally Bar supports Teams Rooms on Android. ;)

Brass Contributor

Yes Logitech Rally seams support MS teams from the Logitech CollabO.S. update of the 24-June-02021, it is still on appliance mode & can't be integrated with Logitech Tap for now.

I still don't see the device listed into the MS Teams certified devices site
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-teams/across-devices/devices/category/teams-rooms/20?page=... 

Copper Contributor

Never mind. I asked about deadline for HDMI injection, but the answer was already in the comments... as always. Sorry guys.

 

Copper Contributor

Is it possible to switch between Teams and an other platform on the Poly X50 without reseting the settings of neither one?

Brass Contributor

Latest from Poly on the video issue.  In general it is better than it was prior to 3.5 but still not great.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The issue you are describing on X50 (or X30) for Meet now no video is an issue we have identified with the Microsoft Teams client running on those devices for the version 3.5. 

After several weeks of teamwork with Microsoft, the expected fix is on version 3.6, or when Microsoft releases Teams client version Update 2A (this is under Microsoft control).

I suggest you to put your device on Microsoft Teams Admin on Device Management, to get that update when available, or wait for Poly release for version 3.6 (tentative ETA September 2021).

Iron Contributor

@ITPitten No, switching provider modes on the X30/50 requires a factory reset on the device in order to properly function with the newly selected mode.  These devices are not designed to be constantly switched between modes.  Changing provider modes is intended when moving between platform solutions, like when migrating from Open SIP to Microsoft Teams.

Brass Contributor

Any update on the new release of MS Teams Room System on Android?

Brass Contributor

Are touchscreen TV's supported as front-of-room displays for MTRoA, ie for use with Teams Whiteboard?

 

This page seems to suggest so, mentioning "on-screen touch controls if you have a touch-screen display" - however I want to be sure as cant find reference anywhere else.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-started-with-teams-rooms-on-android-68517298-d513-46b...

Also just my opinion - We really do need a matrix of features between MTRoW/MTRoA, maintained by MS that can be looked up (similar to the product pages for M365 licensing SKU's) - it would save a lot of the above discussion :)

 

Copper Contributor

Microsoft is just playing ball with Support for wired HDMI ingest for sharing from a desktop. Before it was end of June, then July and now August.. common make up your mind ..

Iron Contributor

IMHO, HMDI ingest is much much more dependent on the HW vendor side of things.

Like it or not, but just because this or other features are *possible* on MTRoA looking forward, does not by all means say, that any or all existing MTRoA pieces out there will or are able to support it.

Ever thought about the fact, that the whole MTRoA comes long after a certain hardware was designed and is now available in the market for some time?
Ever thougth, that maybe some vendors will try to keep you waiting until their next generation product will be available.

So far I dont know of any HW vendor, who 100% guaranteed to their customers, that their existing models will support HDMI ingest. All I see is finger pointing between MS and the HW vendors.

Copper Contributor

HDMI ingest is available now in the MTRa Android code, it's just that some vendors like Poly have not yet introduced support for it 

 

I have a Yealink A20 MTRa sitting on my desk and it fully supports HDMI ingest, and incidentally also has BYOD support. It's implemented very well and proves that the capability does exist, the other vendors just need to get their act together.

Copper Contributor

Hi guys, Looks like poly has released their 3.6.0 software which is supposed to fix the hdmi ingest.

Any ETA on when the 3.6.0 poly software and latest teams app will be available through teams device management?

Updating directly via poly servers makes a few things break and no hdmi ingest either in teams.

Thanks!

Iron Contributor

According to https://aitsc.de/blog/studio-x-g7500-software-release-3-6-verfuegbar/
3.6 does NOT include HDMI ingest yet.

Copper Contributor

Unfortunately, HDMI ingest is not working in v 3.6.0 of the Poly code when running MTRa.

Copper Contributor

Ah, that is unfortunate. The auto switch to device mode while in zoom rooms is exactly what we need if hdmi ingest on teams isn't going to be implemented! 

https://community.polycom.com/t5/Video-Endpoints/Software-Poly-Studio-X-and-G7500-3-6-0-was-released...

Brass Contributor

Quick update on 3.6.0 and outbound video feeds.  I have been doing some testing on an X50 device for Poly and have found that there are still two issues:

  • When using Meet Now from the TC8 the recipient can still not see the video feed.  Appears to be very similar to the other issues we had, so I suspect this is still a Microsoft issue.
  • When using the device via Room Audio from my laptop the video freezes about 10 seconds in to the call.  This is exactly the same time as the TC8 connects.  I think this may be a Poly Studio issue and not Microsoft, however Poly is looking into it.

 

I have sent logs for the second one to Poly and a video showing it happening.  The first I need to do a video and logs when I am back in the office tomorrow.  We are still in and out of lockdowns here in Australia.

Copper Contributor

Just finished installing the Yealink A30 with CPT18 and VCH51, with the latest (august) update. And I must say it's fantastic, we already liked the MTRoA in March when we starting testing, but this latest release really makes allot of further improvements.

However 1 feature is still "dumb". One or the reasons we chose the Yealink over the Poly, is the dual screen (that and the privacy shutters, which people love). However content is always displayed on screen 2 (HDMI2) instead of Screen 1 (HDMI1), which means that you can no longer interact with the content (/whiteboard) on the touchscreen on the main screen (HDMI1) which is the touchscreen in our case (Dell C55xxQT). So we have to chose every meeting to do a meeting with passive content (and connect HDMI2, with the benefit of split screens), or interacting / whiteboarding in which we can't connect the second screen.

Microsoft

@Paul_Renting thanks for this feedback. This is something we will consider for a future update.

Copper Contributor

Hello Microsoft,

According to your roadmap update page, the HMDI content sharing ingest looks like in rolling out phase. As end user can we test it in beta version? And when it will be released for end users?

 

Thanks.

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=66357 

Copper Contributor

Hello,

We need content sharing on teams urgently. Do you have any idea about this feature when it will be rolling out on android devices ?

According to below article it is on the roadmap but still we don' t have this feature.

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=66357 

Copper Contributor

After many unofficial talks with both Poly, Yealink and MS on why HDMI ingest clearly works on Yealink when Poly can’t give clear deadlines on when it’s released, this is what we’ve found.

 

The reason is not MS, but the Snapdragon processor. Yealink uses 845 while Poly (and most others) use the older 835 and apparently it’s questionable when/if Qualcomm will release the drivers that allow this.

 

This is supposedly why Poly keeps pushing it to the next update (our rep says 4.0 in December but no promises as of this writing, but a month ago it was 3.6 and September).

 

I have this unofficially from MS and from Yealink, but I’m still waiting for Poly to confirm/deny, so it’s not 100% but at least it fits the storyline. Anybody that can corroborate or have opposing info would be appreciated.

 

We have 20+ Poly x50 rooms waiting on HDMI injection and 100 others waiting for a new solution, so If Poly is not releasing this, we need to replan. They’re pushing Pexip as alternative, but I’d really rather just change vendor now than live with the pain of multiple software solutions.

Iron Contributor

@lmunckThanks for posting this valuable info.

Well, it alls sounds entirely plausible. People tend to forget, that just because MSFT updates their feature scope, does not mean, that all units out there, especially the ones having been on the market for some time OR stripped down to pinpoint one particular price point, will be able to make use of it.

 

Call me a totally old-fashioned hardware guy, but every feature coming in via a software upgrade later in the life cycle is a GIFT and nobody should neither trust on something coming nor calculating with it.

For sure, I will not badmouth about any vendor,. However, it would not have been the first time, a vendor keeps on delaying features until a new follow-up hardware generation is announced just because the older generation simply does not have the horse power.

That being said, I am kind of shocked to learn, that a current generation conference room collaboration system is running on the same chip as my old Samsung S8 mobile somewhere in my tech trash bin.... Is there any info on what OS these boxes are running?

Copper Contributor

@Harald_Steindl there are 2 versions of Microsoft Team Rooms: Windows and Android. Called MTRoW and MTRoA respectively. The Snapdragon versions (all collaboration bars, and e.g. Logitech roommate ) are running Android

Copper Contributor

Was just about to say the same. This thread is all about the Android version. The Windows version has had HDMI injection for a while afaik. The reason we don’t use it is that the Windows version has more maintenance too.

Iron Contributor

@Paul_Renting @lmunck 
I am very much aware of the difference between MTRoA and MTRoW.
It is kind of debatable though, if a MTRoW does indeed need more maintainance. People still believe a MTRoW system is the same as a Windows desktop system, which is clearly wrong.
Anyhow I would expect this very situation (underlying hardware runs out of steam to support newer features) to happen more often in the Android world than on Windows, but maybe I am wrong.

 

Brass Contributor

This techcommunity refer to "Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android"

So it refer to MRToA and not on MRToW.

Even us we are waiting for the MS Teams HDMI ingest on Logitech Rally Bar + Logitech Tap.

I'm currently love this new era of Collaboration Bar, moving from Monolithic approach (only one possible Meeting Room Client) to an open O.S. to multiple conferencing collaboration platform solution, to do not mention platform agnostic with BYOD.

MS Teams is our own standard but technology evolve and we need to be flexible to join other non MS Teams meeting.

Regards

AP

Copper Contributor

Also following this as its a game changer and much needed.

 

N | F

Copper Contributor

Just want to confirm that the Yealink products have HDMI injection working flawlessly, which seems to support the idea that the reason it’s not working in Poly/Crestron is the old processor they use.

 

I also have a new source in Microsoft saying that his source in Poly reconfirms that it will be in December update, but at this point, I’ll believe it when I see it.

 

As a note, the Yealink is really cool and much cheaper. Only downside so far seems to be the mic setup, which struggled in our setup when ppl was more than 3m away.

Copper Contributor

Hi all, 

 

we have one issue with our Logitech Rally Bars from time to time.

A meeting join or a incoming call will shown on the front TVs but after a second the call canceld and the teams application reload. If you try it again, the same error accours. Only a reboot of the Rally Bar solves the problem. We have about 15 and all of them have this issue from time to time.

 

I'm in contact with logitech but maybe you mention the same issue for other vendors, so that we maybe can enclose the issue to MTRoA or Logitech.


Thansk for a reply.

Frank

Brass Contributor

@FrankNienhaus We are running the Poly Studio bars (x30 and x50) and I haven't seen this behavior as yet.  Hopefully that helps you in isolating the source a little.

Iron Contributor

@lmunck

Do you have any update on the HDMI ingest saga?

Maybe there simply wont be any HDMI ingest on the Poly Studio X series because of the reason you reported?

BTW: Is there any info on what Android Versions these MTRoA boxes are running? Is it safe to assume that Poly is running an older Android than say Yealink?

Copper Contributor

The RallyBars supports HDMI Ingest, now: https://prosupport.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360060494714#h_01FDB1CP55SM5M6QB78SRF3966

Unfortunately not for the tablet setup jet, but I believe this will be changed in near feature. 

Copper Contributor

Still patiently waiting for HDMI ingest on the Poly X30/X50 products.

 

Poly insist that they are waiting for MS to enable this.

 

Doz

Copper Contributor

Poly OS 3.9 was released late December and has HDMI ingest and Device Mode enabled.

Copper Contributor

Yes.. at last... just pushed this out and it's working! Thanks.

Copper Contributor

Note that HDMI ingest on Poly X30/50 does not support sound for now.

Brass Contributor

I see the latest ETA for Direct Guest Join on MTRoA is March 2022 - is anyone at Microsoft able to confirm if this is on track or if another delay is likely? I ask because it has been pushed out a few times and i'm tentative in quoting it until we have something more concrete to tell customers.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=In%20development&searchterms=81482

For us it has been the primary reason MTRoW is still the most popular platform, but as soon as DGJ is live it would mean we can start quoting MTRoA solutions as default for the small/medium size rooms.

 

Also one other query - will the ability to customise theme/wallpaper come to MTRoA? I can see its already available for Teams Panels which only came out recently - but wierdly is not available for MTRoA? This causes an obvious mismatch if a customer has both MTRoW and MTRoA rooms in the same building, so it would be good to get the branding aligned.

 

Thanks!

Iron Contributor

For now, sharing the whiteboard is only supported for personal accounts. Shared account (aka resource account) support is coming soon.

@SandhyaRao How long this will take?
We are using Neat Board now, and the Whiteboard app is missing there.

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