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The New Teams version (sometimes also called Teams 2.0) will become the new standard for Microsoft’s communication platform from July 1, 2024. On October 1, 2024, the Classical Teams client in the VDI context will reach its end of support and, according to the latest news, its end of availability date on July 1, 2025. These end dates have been adjusted several times in recent weeks.
But the most important thing first:
The fact that New Teams is no longer offered via msi or exe package, but is only available as a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) app (MSIX package), the end-of-support and end-of-availability date for the Classical Teams client also marks the end of some operating system versions that may still be used as the basis for Citrix Worker.
The most prominent current victim is Windows Server 2016, for example, where the end-of-life date is currently set for January 12, 2027. However, since no UWP app can be integrated under Windows Server 2016, this operating system can no longer serve as a worker OS for Citrix if New Teams is also to be used there.
Prerequisites
Minimum Windows version:
- Windows 10 (Version 10.0.19041, excluding Windows 10 LTSC)
- Windows 11
- Windows Server 2019 (10.0.17763)
- Windows Server 2022 (20348.2402)
Minimum Microsoft Edge WebView2 version:
- Version 90.0.818.66
Minimum Citrix versions:
- Citrix Workspace App Windows 2203 LTSR (or newer)
- Citrix Workspace App Windows 2302 CR (or newer)
- Citrix Workspace App Linux 2207
- Citrix Workspace App Mac 2302
- Citrix Workspace App Chrome/HTML5 2301
- Citrix Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) 2203 LTSR (or newer)
- Citrix Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) 2212 CR (or newer)
- Citrix Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) 1912 LTSR CU 6 (or newer) – However, not all features of the New Teams Client are supported!
Script based installation
Simply use my NeverRed script for this. All my latest discoveries regarding New Teams are added to the installation routine on a daily basis.
Installation New Teams
First, the prerequisites for installing the New Teams Client must be installed on the target device. To do this, Microsoft Edge WebView2 must be installed and sideloading for UWP apps must be activated.
- Download the installation package for Microsoft Edge WebView 2
- Start the installation of Microsoft Edge WebView2
- Activate sideloading on the worker, start an Administrative PowerShell and enter the following commands:
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New-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx -Name AllowAllTrustedApps -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force | Out-Null New-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx -Name AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force | Out-Null New-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx -Name BlockNonAdminUserInstall -Value 0 -PropertyType DWORD -Force | Out-Null |
It must also be checked that the .Net-framework is installed higher than version 4.8 (Windows Server 2019 & Windows 10) so that the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office can be installed.
- Check the installed version on the worker by starting an Administrative PowerShell and enter the following command:
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(Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full").Version |
If the version is lower than 4.8, it must be updated before installing New Teams.
- Download the installation package for .Net-Framework 4.8
- Start the installation of .Net-Framework 4.8
- After installing the .Net-framework, the system must be restarted
The New Teams Client is installed either directly via the MSIX package (Windows Server 2019 & Windows 10) or via Teamsbootstrapper Executable (Windows Server 2022 & Windows 11).
The method via the Teamsbootstrapper installation is the recommended version on Citrix Worker machines.
Important!
If there is still a old Teams installation on the system, it must be uninstalled first.
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./teamsbootstrapper -x |
- Download the required installation files for the New Teams
- Start the installation of the New Teams Client with the command for the underlying operating system
Windows Server 2019 & Windows 10
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Dism.exe /Online /Add-ProvisionedAppxPackage /PackagePath:<Path to msix file> /SkipLicense |
Windows Server 2022 & Windows 11
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.teamsbootstrapper.exe -p -o <Path to msix file> |
The New Teams installation must then be optimized for Citrix.
- Start an Administrative PowerShell and enter the following command:
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reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Citrix\WebSocketService" /v ProcessWhitelist /t REG_Multi_SZ /d msedgewebview2.exe /f | Out-Null reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\MicrosoftTeams" /v disableAutoUpdate /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f | Out-Null |
This is no longer necessary as of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops version 2402.
Auto-start of Teams
The auto-start in Teams is now controlled by three components:
- Since this is an MSIX installation, the limitations of an MSIX package also apply. This means that only after the first manual start, the package is fully registered in the user context and therefore only then can the auto-start behaviour be defined via Settings > General
- If the Auto-start Teams checkbox is greyed out, it means a system-wide GPO is disabling this option for UWP apps. To activate this options change the following registry keys:
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[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] "EnableFullTrustStartupTasks"=dword:00000002 "EnableUwpStartupTasks"=dword:00000002 "SupportFullTrustStartupTasks"=dword:00000001 "SupportUwpStartupTasks"=dword:00000001 |
This registry change needs a restart to be active.
- When you change the checkbox, the following registry key is set.
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\SystemAppData\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TeamsTfwStartupTask] "State"=dword:00000002 "UserEnabledStartupOnce"=dword:00000001 |
Of course, this can also be specified centrally.
Installation Teams Meeting Add-in
The add-in still needs to be installed and configured so that you can continue to schedule Teams meetings via Microsoft Outlook.
Important!
If Office x86 is installed, Teams x86 should also be installed. This means that the Teams Meeting Add-in should also be installed in x86. Otherwise, it can lead to unwanted restarts, as Teams independently installs the x86 Teams Meeting Add-in in the user session and then provokes the restart.
- Start an Administrative PowerShell and enter the following command:
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For x64: msiexec.exe /i "$((Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files\WindowsApps' -Filter 'MSTeams*').FullName)MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddinInstaller.msi" Reboot=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1 TARGETDIR="C:\Windows\MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddin" /qn For x86: msiexec.exe /i "$((Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files\WindowsApps' -Filter 'MSTeams*').FullName)MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddinInstallerX86.msi" Reboot=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1 TARGETDIR="C:\Windows\MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddin" /qn |
- After installation, the add-in must be registered by executing the following commands:
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$appX64DLL = (Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Windows\Microsoft\TeamsMeetingAddin\x64" -Include "Microsoft.Teams.AddinLoader.dll" -Recurse).FullName $appX86DLL = (Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Windows\Microsoft\TeamsMeetingAddin\x86" -Include "Microsoft.Teams.AddinLoader.dll" -Recurse).FullName Start-Process -FilePath ""$env:WinDir\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe" -ArgumentList "/s /n /i:user `"$appX64DLL`"" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Start-Process -FilePath ""$env:WinDir\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe" -ArgumentList "/s /n /i:user `"$appX86DLL`"" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue If (!(Test-Path 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\')) {New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\" | Out-Null} New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins" -Name "TeamsAddin.FastConnect" -Force -ErrorAction Ignore | Out-Null New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\TeamsAddin.FastConnect" -Type "DWord" -Name "LoadBehavior" -Value 3 -force | Out-Null New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\TeamsAddin.FastConnect" -Type "String" -Name "Description" -Value "Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office" -force | Out-Null New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\TeamsAddin.FastConnect" -Type "String" -Name "FriendlyName" -Value "Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office" -force | Out-Null If (!(Test-Path 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\')) {New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\" | Out-Null} |
Installation Teams Presence Add-in
For many customers, I also had to reinstall the Teams Presence add-in. This shows the availability of the addressed users directly in Outlook.
Profile solution
The following paths must be included in the New Teams:
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweSettingssettings.dat
- %LocalAppData%Publishers8wekyb3d8bbweTeamsSharedConfigapp_switcher_settings.json
- %LocalAppData%Publishers8wekyb3d8bbweTeamsSharedConfigtma_settings.json
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweAC
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweAppData
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalCache
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalState
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweRoamingState
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweSettings
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweSystemAppData
- %LocalAppData%PackagesMSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbweTempState
The following profile solutions are supported:
- Minimum FSLogix Version 2210 Hotfix 4
- Minimum Citrix Profile Management Version 2308
- Aktivierung vom UWP App Roaming Feature
Anti-Virus
The following anti-virus process exceptions must be stored for the New Teams:
- ms-teams.exe
- ms-teamsupdate.exe
Limitations
The following known topics and features are currently not available in New Teams in VDI:
- Screen sharing from the chat for Citrix only when using Workspace app 2311
- msteams_autostart.exe “The parameter is incorrect”: In non-persistent environments that use FSLogix (all versions prior to 2210 HotFix 4) or Citrix Profile Manager profile containers, the error is issued when new teams try to start automatically or when a user tries to start teams from the start menu
- New Teams is not started by users who log in to non-persistent virtual desktops, or the application is not visible in the start menu
- Admins do not have this problem – after installing new teams on the golden image, they can start it successfully
- After sealing the golden image and deploying at scale (using provisioning tools such as Citrix MCS/PVS), users log in to the virtual machines and click on the new Teams icon but are unable to launch the app. The issue is caused by a failed registration of the MSIX package at user level with different profile management software (FSLogix before 2210 HotFix 4, Citrix CPM 2308 or 2311, but not on 2402 etc.), although the deployment of the package was successful (the OS saved the content of the package to disk in the %ProgramFiles%WindowsApps directory). This issue can be confirmed by running Get-AppxPackage -name MsTeams for the affected users. If you run this code, an empty output will be returned.
- The PowerShell window is displayed after New Teams has been deployed. To prevent this, the registry key listed below must be deleted.
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Location: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" Name: TeamsProvisionRunKey |
New features in New Teams for VDI
The following features are included in New Teams for VDI, compared to Classical Teams:
- Multitenant Multi-Account
- Performance improvements in the consumption of hardware resources
- Channels 2.0
- Multiple windows are activated by default without the need for a restart
- Improvements to the sharing toolbar (including pinning/unpinning)
