Staying compliant: Get ready for Microsoft Teams Rooms Licensing Policy Enforcement

Attention: Less Than 30 Days Remaining!  As a reminder, our 90-day grace period on enforcement will soon come to an end.  You have less than 30 days left to assign valid Teams Rooms licenses to Teams Rooms accounts.  The grace period concludes on September 30, 2023.

We understand the challenges in migrating to the appropriate Teams Rooms license, and we provided this additional time with your best interests in mind.  However, the deadline is approaching fast, and we urge you to act promptly to ensure a smooth transition.  If you have any outstanding migration issues, now is the time to address them.  Don't miss this opportunity to complete the transition within the grace period.  Please act now, before time runs out!

Our team is here to support you every step of the way.  Please reach out if you need any assistance or have questions.  Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to your continued partnership.

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Important Update (6/20/2023):

Given the challenges that some of our customers are facing in migrating to the new licensing, we have elected to provide a 90-day grace period on enforcement that will begin on our July 1, 2023 enforcement date. We have made this decision with our commitment to customer satisfaction and seamless transition.

Your 90-day grace period will begin on July 1, 2023 and end on September 30, 2023.

While we remain steadfast in our objective of ensuring a secure and compliant use of Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, we also acknowledge the need for adequate time to address migration issues. Therefore, we are granting additional time to allow you to complete your transitions smoothly.

We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we navigate through these changes. Our aim remains to support you while ensuring adherence to our licensing policies. We are confident that this additional time will allow for a smoother transition, ultimately benefiting both our customers and our team.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to our mission. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.

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On September 6, 2022, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro and Basic licenses.  As part of this announcement, we also shared an important update about the use of M365/O365 (i.e., A, E, G) user subscription licenses for Teams Rooms deployments.

Starting July 1, 2023, customers will no longer be able to apply user subscription licenses to sign-in to their Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, including Surface Hub and Teams Panels.  This change was communicated via in-product messaging and on the Microsoft Teams Rooms licenses page to ensure our customers ample time to prepare for this transition.  Customers will need to procure and provision a Teams Rooms license for accounts used on Teams Rooms.  For Teams Panels, customers need to provision a Teams Shared Device license for those accounts where a Teams Panel is deployed to a space where there is no Teams Room or Surface Hub in the room.

The policy also includes devices enrolled in the Pro Management portal.  A Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Rooms Premium license will be required to take advantage of the AI-powered cross-platform device management capabilities of the Pro Management portal.

Figure 1: Microsoft Teams Rooms license page notice.

Figure 2: Teams Admin Center license message.

Figure 3: Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows settings license message.

To assist our customers in this transition, we have prepared resources to help you understand the changes and make the necessary updates to your licenses. In this blog post, we provide an overview of the licensing changes, guidance on how to check if your organization is using user subscription licenses for Microsoft Teams Rooms, and information on how to update to the new licensing model.

New Licenses Available

Teams Rooms Pro license delivers enhanced in-room meeting experiences like intelligent audio and video, front row and large galleries, and dual screen support. Teams Rooms Pro also provides advanced management features like remote device management, conditional access policies, and detailed device analytics. Teams Rooms Pro is a great fit for medium and enterprise organizations, as well as smaller organizations with larger room counts or more advanced needs. Teams Rooms Pro licenses can be used to license both certified Teams Rooms systems and Teams Panels.

Teams Rooms Basic license provides core meeting experiences at no additional cost. The Teams Rooms Basic license includes scheduling, joining meetings, content sharing, and collaborative whiteboarding. In addition, the license offers basic security and management capabilities out-of-the-box. You can assign up to 25 Microsoft Teams Rooms Basic licenses to Teams Rooms systems in your organization. If you need to license more than 25 Teams Rooms systems, they will require Teams Rooms Pro licenses. Teams Rooms Basic licenses can be used to license Teams Rooms systems only and not Teams Panels.

Teams Shared Device license is for use on Teams Panels if your meeting room does not have a Teams Room or Surface Hub that is in the room.

These changes are designed to provide a better experience and more features for Teams Rooms devices. However, we understand that choosing the right license for your organization can be confusing, and our team is here to help you make the best decision for your needs.

How To Update Licenses

We recognize that updating licenses can be a time-consuming process for organizations. We're providing both a simple step-by-step process for checking small batches of devices and an automated script for checking licenses in bulk to help update your licenses to Pro or Basic, making the transition as smooth as possible.

To assist you further, we’ve produced a video on our Microsoft Helps YouTube channel. The video shows a step-by-step guide on how to audit your licenses and ensure that your Microsoft Teams Rooms devices continue to sign-in and run Teams meetings after the enforcement date. We highly recommend that you watch the video to learn more about the license update process and to make the transition as seamless as possible.

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Customers with existing Microsoft Teams Rooms Standard or Premium subscription licenses can reserve additional seats under their existing agreement to remain compliant.

Final Word

We recommend you review your current Microsoft Teams Rooms device licensing and make sure you are prepared for these upcoming changes. To learn more about the Teams Rooms Pro, Teams Rooms Basic, or Teams Shared Device licenses, visit the Microsoft website or contact us or your preferred Microsoft Partner. For more information, visit Teams Rooms Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365 as well as our FAQ, which includes information on licensing solutions if you are using Microsoft Teams Rooms as a personal device.