Changes coming to Office 365 which will affect Lync Phone Edition (LPE) Devices

Impacted Devices:
Aastra 6721ip, 6725ip
HP 4110, 4120
Polycom CX500, CX600, CX700, CX3000

 

Microsoft has announced upcoming changes to the Transport Layer Security (TLS) versions Office 365 will support in the future.

The announcement made on 2/10/18 (MC128929), which can be read here, details planned changes that will take effect 10/31/18.

According to this announcement Microsoft will be deprecating TLS versions 1.0 and 1.1.  This means that Office 365 will only support TLS version 1.2 after this change.

While this is a needed security enhancement that will make your Office 365 services more secure, there are some repercussions for users who have migrated some or all of their services to the cloud.

 

For Skype for Business users who have deployed Lync Phone Edition (LPE) devices, this change could have a dramatic impact.  LPE devices are based on Windows CE 6.0.  This OS supports SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0.  Unless Microsoft releases a new update for a 10 year old OS (updating these devices to CE 7.0), these devices will no longer be able to connect directly to Office 365 as they lack TLS 1.2 support.  We view the possibility of Microsoft releasing such an update as unlikely, and suggest that you plan accordingly.

 

Users who have migrated their entire Skype for Business stack to Office 365, should anticipate that the LPE devices will no longer be able to register to Skype for Business Online.  Further for users that are using Exchange Online it is also conceivable that integrations like calendaring and voicemail integrations (on the LPE device) may also cease to function properly.

For these impacted clients the only resolution will be to purchase newer model phones (3PIP) or to remove the handset from your deployment and rely on the Skype for Business desktop and mobile clients.

 

If you would like more information on the above or help selecting and replacing devices, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We are partnered with the leading phone manufacturers that produce Skype for Business certified handsets. UCRight understands the importance of your voice communications and is here to provide you with assistance.