Microsoft has announced a major firmware update for the Surface Headphones 2+. It will bring Microsoft Teams certification over native Bluetooth without requiring dongles.
According to the announcement post on the Tech Community forums, the update will arrive on July 28. Teams certification means the Surface Headphones 2+ will offer high-quality speech capture and audio in Microsoft Teams. The Surface Headphones 2+ is the first Bluetooth device to receive such a certification.
Here is a list of benefits the upcoming firmware will bring:
- Certified for Microsoft Teams: With the firmware update, Surface Headphones 2+ is the first Teams-certified device for native Bluetooth, enabling you to enjoy the best Microsoft Teams experience, from exceptional audio quality for calls and media to intuitive, on-device controls for Microsoft Teams.
- Synchronized Controls for Microsoft Teams: Bring Microsoft Teams to the forefront with the dedicated Microsoft Teams button, answer/end calls, and control your volume and mute state directly on the headset without the dongle.
- Experience best of Microsoft Teams with or without the dongle: Those who forget or misplace their dongle will still have all the benefits of a certified experience while collaborating on calls without it. Plus, free up a port on your device!
- Flexibility to meet your needs: You can still use the dongle in crowded workspaces or for a dedicated connection when using multiple Bluetooth devices. With a dongle, different light states indicate whether you are connected, muted/unmuted, or receiving an incoming call.
Surface Headphones 2+ users can install the upcoming firmware (version 1.0.7.44 or later) on Windows and Mac using the Surface App from the Microsoft Store or the Microsoft Accessory Updater tool from the Mac App Store.
The Surface Headphones 2+ is a business-oriented version of the traditional Surface Headphones 2 released in 2020. Unveiled in April 2021, the "Plus" version features Microsoft Teams certification when connected via a dedicated wireless dongle. The latter provides better connection and audio quality, plus additional integration with Teams. With the upcoming firmware update, these capabilities will be available for Bluetooth mode.
Interestingly, the standard Surface Headphones 2 has not received new firmware in almost two years. The only update Microsoft ever released for the second generation of its headphones arrived in September 2020 with support for Spanish and Italian language packs.