Lync 2013 / SfB Client update updated

Referencing this previous post:  http://tsoorad.blogspot.com/2015/04/lync-2013-skype-for-business-client.html

Thanks to Elan Shudnow, here is a potential work-around for you… but you will need to have it in place prior to the blessed event…

Here is an applicable TechNet link:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn954919.aspx

To get around this first launch issue with the new patch, you’ll want to set EnableSkypeUI to $false and pre-define registry settings using a GPO so it immediately brings up the Lync 2013 client experience without first bringing up the Skype for Business UI and then having a user restart the client.

The link above provides the necessary settings to get the above working settings.  It’s important to specify the GPO as mentioned in the technet article as you want to add a new registry key (which will only do it if it doesn’t exist) instead of updating the registry key.

Specifically, the steps to get Lync 2013 UI displaying on first launch and subsequent launches are:

1. Get-CSClientPolicy | Set-CSClientPolicy –EnableSkypeUI $false
2. Create GPO as outlined in the article under the “Create a Group Policy to modify the registry on a domain joined computer”

Remember that when or if you do upgrade the servers or your environment to SfB, you will need to undo the GPO.  In theory, the in-band provisioning will override the GPO…

“You can specify the client experience the users in your organization will see by using the Set-CSClientPolicy cmdlet with the EnableSkypeUI parameter. The following command selects the Skype for Business client experience for all users in your organization affected by the Global policy (remember, site or user-specific policies override the Global policy): “ (my bold and italics added)

…but we all know how that goes, yes?

YMMV

Lync 2013 / Skype for Business Client update

 

Hello, it is April 22, 2015.  Note the date…

If you run the latest Office 2013 updates into your environment, but, as expected, you still have Lync 2013 for the pool servers, you will see this when the client next opens Lync.  Normal, anticipated, but still a PITA for the user and likely to generate some help desk angst.

After a restart of the client by clicking on the “restart now” button, you will see this:

As in, back to “normal.”

YMMV