Cisco Webex Meetings Slow Channel Policy

Webex Slow Channel Announcements

For more info on current slow channel versions, see the What's New for the Slow Channel of Cisco Webex Meetings.

Webex Slow Channel Policy

Webex Video Conferencing is a highly secure and scalable video conferencing service delivered through Cisco Collaboration Cloud. Being a cloud service helps Webex to deliver new features, enhancements, and fixes automatically without any intervention from customers. For special business needs, many of our customers can choose to stay on specific supported versions of Webex desktop applications, preventing them from getting regular updates and enhancements.

Cisco is publishing this version retirement policy for Webex release versions to serve customers by keeping an effective balance between the need for minimizing change but receiving important updates and enhancements.

Webex Meetings is a cloud service. Why is it not always the latest version?

Webex Meetings requires users to join or start meetings using a meeting application. Users can use mobile apps, desktop apps, the browser-based web app, Webex Teams, Cisco Jabber, or a video device to join meetings. Using the desktop app requires users or IT administrators to install the desktop app on users’ desktops.

Customers who want to minimize changes in their Webex service can keep their desktop applications on a supported slow channel version of the Webex desktop application and prevent automatic updates of this application. Customers must then schedule updates of the desktop application at a preferred time. This causes older versions of Webex Meetings to exist on customer premises.

However, customers can’t keep Webex Meetings cloud components on a specific version. Customers will automatically receive updates including major or minor enhancements and bug fixes on Webex components delivered by the cloud, such as Webex pages, APIs, mobile applications, the web app, and Webex Site Administration.

The Webex Meetings Slow Channel Policy establishes the update cadence for slow channel versions.

Version Retirement Policy

1. For a given Webex release, when a newer slow channel version of the desktop application is available, Cisco will announce the end-of-support date of the previously available slow channel version of the desktop application. The end-of-support date will be one month after the availability of a new slow channel version. The announced retirement date of a desktop application version will be four months after the availability the new version of the application. For example, if your Webex site is on Slow Channel release 40.6.6, and on October 31, 2020 the new Slow Channel release 40.10 becomes available, then the 40.6.6 version would reach end of support on November 30, 2020 and would be retired on February 28, 2021.

2. After the end-of-support date, Cisco will no longer deliver bug fixes or software maintenance on the previous version.

3. Customers must upgrade their site to use the new available version before the version’s retirement date. After the announced retirement date, Cisco will automatically update the customers’ site to the new version. This change will automatically deliver the new version of the desktop application to the users who connect to the Webex site. If IT administrators prevent users from getting the new version, then users can use Cisco Webex Web App to join or start meetings from browser.

The approved supported versions are as follows: