What's new on the Pexip Service

See what's new and what's changed! This article describes recent and planned updates to the Pexip Service, covering features such as Pexip Meetings (VMRs), video conferencing (VTC) endpoints, and Teams and Meet interoperability gateways. Features not marked as beta are officially released.

You can also receive the latest product news, updates and releases by signing up for our Pexip Product Spotlight, go to: https://www.pexip.com/product-newsletter-subscription.

This page was last updated on March 25, 2024.

Getting the latest changes

The changes below are already live on the Pexip Service. Some features may need configuration or a subscription though; for extra details take a look at the linked articles.

March 2024

New Certificate Authorities in use on the Pexip Service

The service now uses certificates that are signed by the same Certificate Authorities that we have been provisioning to Cisco endpoints since November 2023.

For most customers no action is needed for this change.

Which systems are affected?

Affected systems are any Cisco devices running Cisco CE or RoomOS software that are registered to the Pexip Service but are NOT provisioned by the service. (For provisioned systems we have already uploaded the new Root CA certificates to those devices via our provisioning service.)

The affected systems may lose their SIP registration and be unable to place calls.

How can I check if my devices are provisioned?

Your account manager at your local certified Pexip Partner can use Pexip's Analytics service to check the provisioning status of your endpoints, which will verify that it is provisioned by the Pexip Service.

If you use ERM you can use the Systems overview page to select and check the provisioning status of your endpoints.

You can also check the provisioning status of each individual endpoint locally via the Cisco Web Interface (Settings > Status > Provisioning) or TShell. If the provisioning server / external manager address is prov.pexip.me then the endpoint is being provisioned via the Pexip Service.

If I'm affected what do I do?

The required action depends on your circumstances:

  • If you have accidentally disabled provisioning to the Pexip Service then simply re-enabling or rebooting the endpoint will cause the endpoint to get the new certificates.
  • If you are using ERM, then you can use ERM to distribute the certificate.
  • If you are using using registrations.mid.vp.vc (manual registration) then you need to manually upload to your endpoints the three trusted Root CA certificates that are used to validate the certificates presented by the Pexip Service as per these instructions. (Do not reconnect to the Pexip provisioning server as this will remove the device's registration settings.)

Additional OTJ meeting type supported

One-Touch Join for Pexip Service now supports Amazon Chime meetings.

February 2024

Usability improvements to Pexip Control Center

Several usability improvements have been made to Pexip Control Center including:

  • Table top filter options are now multi-selectable.
  • It is easier to change the existing selected date range when using the custom date picker.
  • Support for searching/filtering by video system tags on the video systems page and in the global search for video systems.

Teams-like layout default for CVI meetings

The Teams-like layout is now the default layout for Teams CVI meetings for all new ERC Premium customers. Existing ERC-P customers will be updated to use the Teams-like layout by default for CVI meetings from March onwards. See Join workflow, layouts and notifications for Teams meetings for more information.

January 2024

SIP support for unregistered Poly/Polycom endpoints

Poly/Polycom endpoints that are not registered to a call-control platform (such as the Pexip Service or any other platform) can now place calls into the Pexip Service.

Microsoft domain validation for OTJ

New Pexip One-Touch Join customers must now add a DNS TEXT record to verify their Microsoft 365 tenant domain. This step is not required if your domain has already been validated for Teams CVI — you only have to verify the tenant domain once and it then can be used for both CVI and OTJ if required. See Verifying Microsoft 365 tenant domains for more information.

Meeting diagnostics in Pexip Control Center

You can now view diagnostic information and Call Data Records (CDRs) for all current and historic meetings. See Viewing meeting diagnostics and call history for more information.

December 2023

Improved search in Pexip Control Center

When using the search bar at the top of every page you can now select and filter by various entity types such as users, meeting rooms and video systems.

Microsoft domain validation for Teams CVI

New Pexip CVI customers must now add a separate DNS TEXT record to verify their Microsoft 365 tenant domain. See Verifying Microsoft 365 tenant domains for more information.

November 2023

One-time rooms: 100 days expiry period

One-time rooms that have not been used for over 100 days are now deleted. This means that if a one-time room is created for a meeting that is scheduled 100 days into the future, that room will be deleted before its scheduled start time (unless that room has been used in the intervening period) and the meeting join links will fail. You can continue to use a one-time room in a recurring meeting providing the repeat interval is less than every 100 days.

Domain hosting validation

When you request a hosted domain you must now create a DNS TXT record so your domain can be verified by the Pexip Service. See Domain hosting DNS records for more information.

Cisco endpoint custom CA certificates

Cisco endpoints are now provisioned with 3 custom CA certificates. These trusted Root CA certificates are used to validate the certificates presented by the Pexip Service. See Cisco devices for more information.

Teams CVI meetings: Large Gallery view and PowerPoint Live sharing

October 2023

Layout improvements

Updated DNS requirements for domain hosting

Note that we have removed the requirement for SIP UDP records when configuring your DNS SRV records for domain hosting. See Domain hosting DNS records.

Huawei endpoints

Huawei endpoints are no longer fully supported on the Pexip Service.

August 2023

You can now configure Pexip Control Center to send email notifications each time an endpoint goes offline or comes back online. See Subscribing to notifications.

July 2023

  • You can now use a Cisco endpoint's touch panel to control your Microsoft Teams or Google Meet meeting room experience. See Meeting Controls for Cisco endpoints for more information.
  • Customers who have Microsoft Teams Room devices with Pro licensing can now make and receive 1:1 (also referred to as point-to-point) SIP/H.323 video calls with VTCs. See Microsoft Teams Rooms SIP/H.323 calling for more information.

June 2023

The indicator that is displayed to a participant in a Teams conference when they are administratively muted has been updated to .

May 2023

Join Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings hosted by a third-party organization ("SIP Guest Join")

Customers with the Enterprise Room Connector (ERC) premium licensing package can now join Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings where that meeting is being hosted by an external third-party organization (even if the host’s organization has not enabled Pexip interoperability themselves). Please see this article on Teams, or this article on Google Meet, or contact your Pexip authorized support representative for more information, and refer to the Teams help topic, or the Google Meet help topic for configuration instructions.

April 2023

  • You can now export data in CSV format from all of the graphs and charts on the Analytics page. See Analyzing usage for more information.
  • The "Online" status for video systems and users has been renamed to "Idle".

March 2023

Lifesize endpoints support

Lifesize endpoints are now supported on the Pexip Service. See Activating Lifesize endpoints on the Pexip Service for more information.

Pexip Control Center improvements

  • You can now export data, in JSON format, from all of the graphs and charts on the Analytics page. See Analyzing usage for more information.
  • The time filters on the graphs and charts now support a custom date picker.

Google Meet integration improvements

November 2022

Teams CVI meetings improvements

Pexip's Cloud Video Interop (CVI) integration with Microsoft Teams has been enhanced:

  • It now has full support for when a Teams client uses the "Disable mic" or "Disable mic for attendees" options on a VTC participant — the VTC's indicated mute status is now always in sync with Teams.

  • Content presentation is now stopped if a CVI participant's role is changed to Attendee while it is currently presenting to the conference.

Google Meet integration improvements

Enhancements to Pexip's Google Meet integration are currently being rolled out on the service:

  • Background noise is now removed from the audio streams.
  • If a Google Meet conference is transcribed, relevant audio prompts indicating that transcribing has been started/stopped are played to callers who are gatewayed into the conference, and a transcribing indicator is displayed.
  • VTC participants can now use DTMF/keypad controls to control the meeting layout during an ongoing conference. The supported layouts and their cycle sequence is 1+7, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 2+21. See Changing the conference layout for more information.

We've released Activate Endpoint app version 1.3.4 for Mac and Windows

In version 1.3.4, we've made these changes:

  • Java is no longer packaged inside the app. The Java SDK must now be installed separately before installing the Activate Endpoint app.
  • The app now only supports TLS 1.2 and higher.
  • It has resolved issues on MacOS with M1 chip where the app would not launch.

See Activating your VTC system for details about how to install and use the Activate Endpoint app.

One-Touch Join for Pexip Service

One-Touch Join for Pexip Service now supports endpoint localization. For more information, see the OTJ macro change log.

October 2022

One-Touch Join for Pexip Service is now available from Pexip Control Center. For more information, see our blog; for information on how to install and configure this feature, see One-Touch Join.

September 2022

Google Meet integration improvements

Presentation content sent from a VTC endpoint to Google Meet now supports 1080p.

Adaptive Composition layout improvements

When using the Adaptive Composition layout in a Pexip VMR:

  • When viewing presentation content as part of the layout mix, up to 12 other video participants are now displayed in addition to the presenter and the presentation itself. If the "presenter" is a group of people then up to 8 other participants are shown, plus the presenter.
  • The conference indicators at the top of the layout now use different colors for different notification messages: audio speaker indicators have a green border, and messages such as locked and recording have a red border. The messages also include the associated icon along with the message text.

See How do the meeting layouts work? for more information about layouts.

August 2022

The Russian Federation was removed from the list of "join by phone" options for the Pexip app.

July 2022

Pexip can enable some localized welcome screens and audio messages for CVI participants joining a Teams conference. For more information and the current list of supported languages, see Localization of welcome screens and audio messages.

May 2022

Layout Controls macro

First release of the Layout Controls macro which allows you to switch between different conference layouts using the touch panel of a Cisco room system during a call. See Layout Controls for Cisco endpoints for more information.

Hong Kong datacenter discontinued

To optimize our services and operations, we have discontinued the Hong Kong datacenter. This should have little, if any, impact for our customers.

Multiscreen participant display for dual-screen endpoints

Dual-screen SIP endpoints can display conference participants (in Pexip VMRs and Microsoft Teams conferences) across both screens, allowing you to show more participants than if you have a single screen.

See Using endpoints to control the layout and manage meetings for more information.

Teams CVI meetings

Pexip's Cloud Video Interop (CVI) integration with Microsoft Teams has been enhanced:

  • Synchronized mute/unmute control and status for VTCs: a VTC can now be administratively muted from the Teams conference, and the VTC can unmute itself by sending a DTMF command (*6) to the conference. Previously, VTC endpoints could not be muted by Teams clients.
  • On-screen muted indicator: a new indicator is displayed to an individual participant as a conference overlay when the endpoint has been administratively muted.
  • Raised hand indicators: a notification is now shown to any VTC participants if a Teams participant raises their hand.

  • Spotlighting: if a participant in a Teams meeting is spotlighted by a Teams client, that participant is also spotlighted in the layout presented to any gatewayed VTC system.

See Join workflow, layouts and notifications for Teams meetings for more information.

Layout Controls macro for Cisco room systems

Pexip now provides a Layout Controls macro which allows you to switch between different conference layouts using the touch panel of a Cisco room system during a call.

See Layout Controls for Cisco endpoints for more information.

Device serial number included in PCC export file

A device's serial number (if known), is now included in the exported usage data for video systems when using Pexip Control Center.

April 2022

Remove support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1

Important changes to TLS support on the service came into effect from May 2022 — please see TLS 1.0 and 1.1 disablement on the Pexip Service for details.

Pexip Control Center enhancements

In Pexip Control Center, the video systems list now includes a Public location column, which provides the public IP address and geographic location for a registered or in-call device.

March 2022

New layout options, dynamic in-meeting controls and active speaker indication

A range of new layout options are now supported, and a meeting participant using a SIP/H.323 endpoint can now dynamically change the layout used in a conference by using a DTMF dial tone command sent from the endpoint's keypad.

Pexip meetings (personal and team VMRs)

Pexip meetings can now use the following layouts as the default layout: 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 2+21, 1+0 and 1+33 (in addition to the existing 1+7 and Adaptive Composition layouts).

Host participants can use *8 on their endpoint keypad to cycle through the Adaptive Composition, 1+7, 2+21, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5 layouts in sequence (the 1+0 and 1+33 layouts are excluded from cycling).

Teams CVI meetings

Teams CVI meetings can now use the 3x3 layout as the default layout (in addition to existing 1+7, 1+0 and 2x2 options). See Join workflow, layouts and notifications for Teams meetings for more details.

VTC interop participants can use *8 on their endpoint keypad to cycle through the 1+7, 2x2, and 3x3 layouts in sequence (the 1+0 layout is excluded from cycling).

Google Meet meetings

Google meetings can now use the following layouts as the default layout: 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 1+0 and 1+7. Previously, all Google meetings had to use the 1+7 layout.

Layout cycling is not currently supported in Google meetings.

See How do the meeting layouts work? and Using endpoints to control the layout and manage meetings for more information.

Please contact your account manager at your local certified Pexip Partner if you would like to request a different default layout for your VMRs or interop service. Note that you cannot request changes to the cycle sequences, or to disable the DTMF options.

Receiving the presentation stream as part of the layout mix

When using Adaptive Composition, most single-screen endpoints will now receive any presentation content as part of the layout mix (replacing some of the other video participants) but you can use DTMF tones (*4) from your endpoint's keypad to toggle this on and off if required.

See Using endpoints to control the layout and manage meetings for more information.

Active speaker indication

The active speaker in a conference (Pexip VMRs and Teams/Google gateway calls) is now indicated — the name of the person speaking is shown in green instead of white.

February 2022

Bulk endpoint subscriptions and activation

If you are activating 100 or more endpoints, you can now perform a bulk creation and activation process. See Creating endpoint subscriptions in bulk and Activating endpoints in bulk for more information.

Full HD (1080p) video for Teams CVI

Customers with the Enterprise Room Connector (ERC) premium licensing package can now order an add-on package that provides Full HD (1080p) video and content streams to endpoints that are gatewayed into Teams meetings.

Pexip app users are now held in the lobby if a room is locked

If a Pexip app user tries to join a locked VMR, the user is now held in the lobby until the room owner or a company administrator lets them in by unlocking the room, or they enter the host PIN. See Locking a VMR for more information.

January 2022

Trusted devices for related companies

We’ve enhanced the trusted devices feature so you can now enable lobby-bypass for endpoints that are registered on the Pexip Service, but are part of a different company. This is useful when a large organization is managed as different companies within the Pexip Service. See Trusted devices / lobby bypass for Microsoft Teams and Google Meet for more information.

Pexip Control Center enhancements

Some new features have been added to Pexip Control Center:

  • Live meeting view now indicates who is currently presenting.
  • The video systems list now includes a Private IP address column, which provides a direct link to the endpoint's admin console.

December 2021

Enhanced site search

You can now use the search bar at the top of every page to search the entire site. It lists any matching items, such as users, meeting rooms and video systems, and depending on your access role you may also see other company or partner organizations.

Video system tags

Endpoint description tags are now shown on the Video Systems page. You can also search for tags, and filter the list of video systems by tags.

November 2021

Export usage data for video systems, users and rooms using Pexip Control Center

We've released our first version of the export feature which lets Admin users export usage data for video systems, users and rooms covering the period from when PCC started collecting data (21 January 2021) until the point when you request the export. You can then use the data to create your own charts using your preferred reporting tool such as Microsoft Excel.

To export data, go to your Video systems, Rooms or Users page, then from the top-right corner select and follow the prompts.

Please note that exported rooms data includes only team rooms (VMRs) and exported video systems data includes only company-associated endpoints, but we plan to add support for personal rooms and user-associated endpoints in later releases. We also plan to add more file formats and time-based filters, and include richer data in the output.

Alternative layouts for Teams interop calls

By default, the standard 1+7 layout is used for VTCs connecting to Teams meetings. As an alternative, you can now choose to use our Full-screen main speaker only (1 + 0) or 4 main speakers (2 x 2) layouts for calls that use our MS Teams interoperability services.

See Join workflow, layouts and notifications for Teams meetings for more information.

We've added a test call service for hardware video endpoint users

Hardware video endpoint users (SIP and H.323) can call a test service to check their connection to the Pexip Service and confirm that their audio and video are working properly. You may want to do this when using Pexip for the first time.

Just dial test@pexip.me to record a short message and have it played back to you. If you encounter a problem, you may need to check your device settings or contact your administrator for help.

September 2021

Improved content sharing when using the Pexip apps

There is improved image quality and device performance when using the Pexip apps for content sharing (they now use H.264).

We've retired the legacy PSTN phone number for Germany

In July 2018 we stopped advertising the legacy phone number for Germany +49 32221092426 and replaced it with a new number +49 21141873479. The legacy number had not been used for some months and we retired it on 30th September 2021.

If you have meeting invites with Advanced room info created before July 2018 that have the legacy PSTN number for Germany, these need to be re-created so that the new number is inserted. If you have handouts generated before July 2018 your company administrator can ask your partner to provide a new handout.

Using Adaptive Composition as the default layout for Pexip VMRs

Adaptive Composition is now used as the default layout for all Pexip meetings (personal and team VMRs, and one-time-use rooms).

  • Customers who have opted to continue using the 1+7 layout (or any other type of layout) will still continue to use that layout for their VMRs, including scheduled meetings in one-time-use rooms.
  • VTCs connecting to any of our integration/interop solutions (Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Skype for Business meetings) will continue to use the 1+7 layout.
  • There is no change in behavior for existing customers who had already been migrated to use Adaptive Composition.

See How do the meeting layouts work? for more information about Pexip layouts.

You can now see your live gateway connections into Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings in Pexip Control Center (PCC)

Customers using Pexip's interoperability service for MS Teams or Google Meet can now see their live gateway connections and other meeting participants via the Troubleshooting page in PCC.

Underneath the live Pexip meetings there are new sections for Teams and Google Meet meetings showing gateway connections grouped by meeting ID. After selecting a gateway connection you see its media statistics and all the other participants that are in the same meeting. For more information, see Viewing live meetings.

August 2021

We've updated the minimum supported software versions for Cisco and Polycom hardware endpoints

If you have a Cisco or Polycom hardware endpoint, please take a look at the updated minimum supported software versions here: Videoconferencing units compatible with Pexip subscriptions. If necessary, please take action to upgrade your device as soon as you can. We recommend using current firmware versions, as older ones may not support the latest features and functionality as the Pexip Service continues to evolve.

We've released Activate Endpoint app version 1.1.8 for Mac and Windows

In version 1.1.8, we've made these changes:

  • Users with Cisco RoomOS 10.x devices no longer need to do an extra step to install the required root certificate, the app installs it automatically.
  • Polycom HDX users no longer need to enable ICMP before using the app to activate the device.

We've added a new IP address range to our firewall policy

We've added 185.124.96.0/22 to our firewall policy, both for the Service Network and the Calling Network. If your organization applies a restricted firewall policy then you should plan to update it to allow this new address range. We expect to start using this new range from October 2021.

Updated firewall policy now live

Please note that the firewall changes announced in December 2020 have now been implemented August 2021.

VTC system participants are now notified when an untrusted guest joins the MS Teams lobby

When an untrusted guest enters the MS Teams lobby, VTC users hear the usual Teams lobby notification and see an onscreen message with an indication of how many guests are waiting in the lobby. They can then go to the Teams client and admit the waiting guests. If only some guests are admitted, the endpoint's display refreshes the count of waiting users.

If all guests are admitted, the endpoint's display briefly shows a confirmation message.

July 2021

Meetings held on Pexip’s CVI Service for MS Teams displays avatars for audio-only participants

We've now re-enabled avatars for audio-only participants. Teams users who are logged in and have joined via audio-only are represented by an avatar (supplied by Exchange Online) within the VTC's conference layout. If no avatar is available, or it is a guest user from another organization, a substitute graphic is generated based on the participant’s initials.

Layout improvements

  • In the Standard 1+7 layout, any Pexip app participants who mute their camera during a meeting are now removed from the main body of the screen and are instead identified via a "video-muted" indicator on the left-hand side of the screen. As with the existing behavior for any audio-only participants , the "video-muted" indicator slides out to display the participant’s name when they speak. These participants are returned to the main layout if they reactivate their camera.
  • The Adaptive Composition layout contains improvements to the process of removing and restoring inactive video participants in the video mix:

    • There is a new inactive video participants indicator . This shows the number of inactive video participants who are excluded from the video layout, including any Pexip app participants who have muted their video. Previously these participants were included in the count of audio-only participants.
    • Inactive participants are more quickly returned to the video layout when they are detected or become active again, removing the need for having to speak to be returned to the mix.

See How do the meeting layouts work? for more information.

June 2021

Pexip Control Center launch

We've just launched the new Pexip Control Center (PCC) where company administrators can view company analytics data and in-progress meetings, and all users with an End User License can view their personal usage of the service and account settings. To find out more, see What is Pexip Control Center?.

Go to Pexip Control Center directly from the Pexip apps

Company administrators, and regular users who use the Pexip web app, can now go to Pexip Control Center directly from the apps. Just go to the menu in the top-right corner and, if you're a company administrator select Control Center NEW or Company Usage, and if you're a regular user it's Usage NEW.

Guests now see your conference ID when clicking your VMR link

We've changed it so that when someone clicks your VMR link, they see the VMR conference ID only. To help protect your privacy, the VMR name is now only visible to participants after they have joined the meeting.

April 2021

Teams improvements

We've just upgraded the Teams gateway service with some new features:

  • We've introduced audible and visible messages and a transcription icon to let Teams participants know when a Teams meeting is being transcribed.
  • When gatewayed into Teams live events, hardware video endpoint users now see a recording indicator confirming that the event is streaming live and possibly being recorded.

November 2020

Dial out to PSTN from Pexip-registered video endpoints

Bring your own carrier (BYOC) lets you use your Pexip-registered video endpoints to dial out to PSTN destinations such as landline phones, mobile phones and audio bridges. So you no longer need a separate telephone in your conference room. Company administrators can refer to Pexip's "Bring your own carrier" — using your VTC system to dial out to PSTN for more information, and other users of the service find help in Using your VTC system to dial out to PSTN.

Activate Endpoint app can be downloaded using the latest version of Chrome

We’ve fixed the bug that was preventing the Activate Endpoint app from downloading using Chrome version 86.0.4240.111.

September 2020

Trusted devices customers using IP address to allow lobby-bypass can now restrict by domain as well

We’ve enhanced the trusted devices feature so you can now further restrict the IP address rule to only include endpoints coming from a specific domain. This is useful when multiple companies share one call control infrastructure. See also Trusted devices / lobby bypass for Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

June 2020

Activate endpoints using the new app

We've released a new version of the Activate Endpoint app which automatically installs the CA Root certificate for Cisco CE9.8 and newer devices, saving the effort of doing it manually. Before you can use the app, you also need an endpoint subscription from your video service provider.

Beta feature: Enter a locked room via the lobby

When a VTC system participant dials into a locked room they can now wait in the lobby until the host admits them. See Locking a VMR.

Beta feature: Automatically set a host PIN for access to personal VMRs

To save time, you can now automatically set a random four-digit host PIN for existing and new users of personal VMRs. See Setting host PIN on all personal VMRs.

Organize your directory into folders

You can organize your company directory into a folder structure of your own design making it easier for hardware endpoint users to find the personal VMR, team VMR or VTC system endpoints they're looking for. To use this feature a Cisco or Poly hardware endpoint that supports folders is required. Any hardware endpoints that do not support folders continue to use a standard flat directory. Read more about folder-based corporate directory.

Configure trusted devices

Administrators can now configure unregistered devices as trusted so that they bypass the lobby when joining Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings. See also Trusted devices / lobby bypass for Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

Register Polycom G7500 and Polycom Studio X devices to the Pexip Service

We now support the following Poly devices for subscription to the Pexip Service: Polycom G7500, Studio, Studio X30, and Studio X50. For more information go to Activating the Poly G7500 or Studio X endpoints on the Pexip Service.

Dial in from Vietnam using PSTN

Users dialing in from Vietnam can now join calls as audio-only participants via the local PSTN telephone network. You can find the number for your country, see Viewing the current list of local PSTN numbers. Also see Dialing in to a video conference via PSTN.

Hold conferences with up to 100 participants

We've increased capacity so that your meetings can now support up to 100 concurrent participants. A participant is a single connection, for example, one person dialing in via a client or a VTC system in a room with several people.