Microsoft has posted a new notification in the Admin Center to notify users about the future state of the new Teams client on older Windows 10 and 11 versions. Soon, the app will start nagging users to update their operating systems to remain supported, and in a few months, Teams will stop working altogether.
Here is the company"s reasoning:
The Teams desktop client needs to be under a supported OS version. This is to ensure that users have the latest updates, capabilities, performance enhancements, security features, and service compatibility. A version that is too far out of date will become incompatible with the service and the Desktop client will be blocked until the OS is updated.
Starting October 15, 2024, the new Teams desktop client will show a banner with a prompt to update from an unsupported operating system to a newer release. This will affect customers with Windows 10 version 21H2 and older, Windows 10 and 11 LTSC (not Modern Lifecycle), and macOS 11. On macOS 12, the banner will show up one month later.
Teams will continue operating on unsupported operating systems, but not for long. On Windows 10 21H2 and older, it will cease operations on January 15, 2025. On Windows 10 and 11 LTSC, that will happen on August 15, 2025. As for macOS, the new Teams will stop working on macOS 11 on November 15, 2024, and on macOS 12 on March 15, 2025.
Launching the new Teams on unsupported operating systems will result in a blocking page with a requirement to update and a link to a support page describing the situation in more detail. You can find the full system requirements for the new Teams here.
Microsoft says IT Admins would "plan a regular OS update cadence" to avoid disruption. More information about the upcoming Teams compatibility changes can be found in MC898394 on the Admin Center.