Prevent WebEx Teams from auto-updating

[jeremy.lippert]

Since the September 9th release it seems that WebEx Teams will auto update itself to the latest version even without the user initiating the update via the update green circle or bouncing the app. We are using the ALLUSERS=1 install method and we would love to be able to turn off the auto update function in our VDI environment as we use non-persistent desktops and we don't want newer versions running from the users profile (%localappdata%\CiscoSparkLauncher).

Is there any way to prevent the auto-update feature of WebEx Teams?

[Vaijanath Sonvane]

Hi,

As mentioned in below URL, Cisco performs auto update of Webex Teams.

https://help.webex.com/en-us/g1otrv/Update-the-Cisco-Webex-Teams-App-to-the-Latest-Release#task_2ADC4AF1D462F6868EE2732E73BB49D3

The network requirements guide specifies that Webex Teams uses *.rackcdn.com for software/firmware update.

https://help.webex.com/en-us/WBX000028782/Network-Requirements-for-Webex-Teams-Services

May be you can block this URL to prevent WebEx Teams from auto-updating. I would recommend opening a Cisco TAC case to know more details about the effects of blocking this URL. 

[jeremy.lippert]

We will try that out. Thanks

[Jonathan Schulenberg]

rackcdn.com is not used exclusively by Cisco; blocking it will likely have very undesirable consequences for other websites. Talk to your Cisco AM a about this; it’s likely the BU is already aware of this challenge for some customers and perhaps have a plan to address it. We cannot discuss roadmap details on the public forums since that requires an NDA.

[jeremy.lippert · Accepted solution]

As of September 26, 2019 Version: 3.0.13464.0 of WebEx Teams there is the following key that is now in HKLM:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cisco Spark Native]
"AutoUpgradeEnabled"=dword:00000001

Cisco TAC just last week told us that there was no way to prevent auto updating or a install parameter to kill it.

Testing the key with dword:00000000 to see if it does prevent updating or what.

[jeremy.lippert]

Can confirm changing AutoUpgradeEnabled to 0 will not allow WebEx Teams to even download the latest version. 

[JeremyHalter1998]

It seems that this is not working anymore for the actual Webex App. Is there another way to deny the auto updates and user update popups?

[ashiesharyan · Accepted solution]

Hi @JeremyHalter1998,

For non-VDI environments (physical systems) - Cisco currently does not provide a supported method to completely turn off auto-updates for non-VDI desktop clients. The 4-week deferral is the maximum control available through official channels.

For VDI clients - Use the AUTOUPGRADEENABLED=0 MSI Option
If you're deploying Webex using an MSI installer (especially in VDI environments), you can disable auto-updates at install time using this command: msiexec /i Webex.msi AUTOUPGRADEENABLED=0

And find more info here - Webex App Desktop Update Controls for Control Hub settings.

Thanks

[Jonathan Schulenberg · Accepted solution]

Jumping in to add more detail to this nearly six year old thread in case others find it in search results. @ashiesharyan is correct that there is no supported method to disable auto-updates entirely for the regular Windows desktop MSI package; welcome to SaaS. The recommended approach is to defer the automatic update process in Webex Control Hub and push the newer MSI version using your software management tools before the deferment expires. This has a few other benefits such as avoiding %AppDataLocal%\CiscoSparkLauncher bloat, especially on shared workstations, and accurate software version inventory in the Windows registry. Customers should also join the Webex beta program to test each release starting roughly a month prior to general availability. While I do not recommend it, customers can request their organization be moved to Slow Channel to reduce the number of releases each year. Be forewarned that this gates the entire tenant release cadence, not just app updates, so you'll often be waiting for features - and likely bug fixes unless they're critical enough to back port.

As mentioned in the Webex app VDI deployment guide, the VDI-specific MSI package will respect the AutoUpgradeEnabled=0 command line parameter but it's crucial that you understand why - and that there are still two clocks ticking even if you use it:

1. The Webex VDI app running in the hosted virtual desktop must stay within N-4 releases of the VDI plugin version running on the thin client. This is the only reason the parameter exists: so customers can coordinate update efforts between the app and plug-in if the latter is challenging. Since the Webex VDI app & plug-in are released bi-monthly this gives you up to nine months of leeway. For example, the June 2025 (45.6) Webex VDI app supports a VDI plugin version as old as October 2024 (44.10).
2. The app support policy limits official support to the two most recent versions - and outright blocks versions past end of life from working, usually around that nine month mark.

The Cisco Live session Deploying the Webex App to your Organization - BRKCOL-2198 is another great resource on this topic.

[JeremyHalter1998]

Alright, thank you!

I switched to the 4 weeks deferral so I have enough time to patch via client management system on our local installations.