Lync Phone Edition (LPE) Upgrade Program FAQ
Q: Why won’t Lync Phone Edition (LPE) phones work with Microsoft Office 365?
A: Office 365 will enforce TLS 1.2 on October 31, 2018. The base operating system on LPE devices will not support TLS 1.2 so LPE devices will not connect to Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams, or other Office 365 products after that date.
Q: What Office 365 Services are affected by this change?
A: Microsoft will enforce TLS 1.2 on the Office 365 Cloud on October 31, 2018. Affected phones can utilize different services within Office 365. As mentioned above, basic calling may be facilitated by Skype for Business Online so that is affected. Likewise, affected phones can utilize Exchange Online services for calendaring, voicemail services, Outlook contacts, call logs, and more. The fact that phones cannot access Exchange Online services will also impact on-premises/hybrid deployments using Exchange Online.
Q: What is TLS?
A: TLS stands for Transport Layer Security and is a cryptographic protocol used for secure communications. Lync Phone Edition (LPE) utilizes TLS for signaling traffic.
Q: Why is this security change required?
A: Old TLS versions (1.0 and 1.1) are known to have vulnerabilities used by hackers. Security regulated markets (for example credit card processing) force services to only utilize modern TLS implementations. While Microsoft has stated that there are no known vulnerabilities in their own implementations of TLS 1.0 they are recognize the potential for future vulnerabilities and making this change to more modern TLS. These newer regulations also encourage moving toward new security mechanisms - for example Modern Authentication that Microsoft has implemented in recent years. These newer security mechanisms are fully supported by AudioCodes phones.
Q: What phones are affected by this TLS 1.2 enforcement in Microsoft Office 365?
A: The affected devices are all Lync Phone Edition (LPE) devices:
- Polycom: CX500, CX600, and CX3000
- HP: 4110 and 4120
- Mitel-Aastra: 6721ip and 6725ip
Q: How can AudioCodes help with this TLS 1.2 announcement? Are there trade-in / trade-up incentives?
A: Yes! AudioCodes is introducing a replacement program for Microsoft LPE Phones that will stop working with Microsoft Office 365 Services beginning on October 31, 2018 when only TLS 1.2 compliant devices will be supported. The offer can be found on the AudioCodes website at: http://online.audiocodes.com/lpeupgradeprogram
Q: Will the AudioCodes phones in this offering match the features of an LPE phone?
A: Yes! For every model of AudioCodes in this offer, we have a matching (or more advanced) set of features. On top of standard expected calling features, our AudioCodes phones have modern features like advanced boss-admin, sidecar options, resiliency options, superior centralized management and more. A few charts detailing how AudioCodes phones compare are found below:
Q: Will phones that work today with Skype for Business work when moved to Microsoft Teams?
A: All 3PIP (Microsoft 3rd Party Interoperability Partner) phones which are certified for Skype for Business Online will continue to work after this Office 365 TLS 1.2 change and work with and be supported by Microsoft Teams. There will be no change to 3PIP phones connected to Skype for Business Server on-premise as long as TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are supported in that deployment. They will be able to join Microsoft Teams scheduled meetings and place calls with the same user experience and features detailed above in the Microsoft blog. Additionally, At Enterprise Connect in March 2018, Microsoft announced a new line of ‘native Teams’ phones that run a Microsoft Teams app directly on the phone itself. LPE phones will not work with Microsoft Teams. For more details check out the Microsoft Tech Community blog.
Q: When will 3PIP phones work with Microsoft Teams?
A: The current Microsoft Office 365 roadmap shows this support coming in 3Q 2018.
Q: Which AudioCodes phones will run this new native Teams experience?
A: The AudioCodes C450HD was announced at Enterprise Connect in March 2018.
Q: Will the look and feel / user experience change once we move to Microsoft Teams?
A: The user experience on 3PIP phones remains the same and will not change when moving to Teams.
Q: What about on-premises Microsoft UC deployments? Will this change affect phones on that?
A: There will be no change to 3PIP phones connect to Skype for Business Server on-premises. They will be able to join Microsoft Teams scheduled meetings and place calls with the same user experience and features detailed above. LPE Phones will still be able to connect to Skype for Business Server on-premises as long as TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are support in that deployment. Connectivity to Office 365 features like Exchange Online will not work after October 31, 2018.
Q: What is a ‘native Teams’ phone anyway?
A: At Enterprise Connect 2018, Microsoft announced a new program for devices for Teams.
- The phones will have Teams look & feel and will come with a Microsoft provided app built-in
- Vendors will add other app(s) as value-added per need to create differentiation
- At launch / availability, Teams Native phones will be touch-only
Q: Need more information?
A: Please fill out the form on the LPE Upgrade Program page or contact Eric Bauer – VP of North American Marketing & Business Development at eric.bauer@audiocodes.com or contact your AudioCodes Sales Executive.