Neat devices: Version 20230504 Release Notes

Last updated on November 7, 2023

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1. Introduction

This document describes the new features, improvements, bug fixes and known issues in the 20230504 software release for Neat Bar, Neat Bar Pro, Neat Pad, Neat Board, and Neat Frame.

As long as your Neat equipment was up and on the network after 2:00pm Central European Time (8:00am Eastern US / 5:00am Pacific US) on Saturday, August 5th, the update would have been downloaded into the Stable update channel on your device.

If you had opted out of automatic upgrades by disabling ‘Automatic updates’ on your Neat device, please note that it will remain on the existing software release and will not upgrade. However, if you would like to upgrade to the 20230504 release, please enable ‘Automatic updates’ and the Neat device(s) will download the latest firmware release and upgrade the Stable channel as above. Automatic updates can be enabled or disabled by going into your Neat’s System settings (from a Neat Pad, Neat Board, or Neat Frame) -> System -> Software Update.

Note: Previous release notes can be found here: https://support.neat.no/article/neat-devices-version-20221128-release-notes/

2. What’s in the new upgrade?

Thursday October 12th:

Neat Pad firmware: NFA1.20230504.0204
Neat Bar firmware: NFB1.20230504.0021
Neat Board firmware: NFC1.20230504.0021
Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230504.0029

This update resolves Microsoft Teams related issues and introduces the ability to update Microsoft Teams applications through Neat firmware. This update includes the following versions of Microsoft Teams applications.

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Companyportal : 5.0.5954.0
Teams Rooms Devices (MTRA U2A): 1449/1.0.96.2023090601
Panels (Panels U3): 1449/1.0.97.2023080401

Note: This version can only be downloaded through the Microsoft Teams Admin Center (TAC).

Saturday September 2nd:

The Neat firmware builds in this upgrade are

Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230504.0027

This update resolves the issue CUS-759. More information can be found in the “Fixed bugs and improvements” section.

Note: This update only applies to Neat Bar Pro devices.

Saturday August 5th:
The Neat firmware builds in this upgrade are

Neat Pad firmware: NFA1.20230504.0202
Neat Bar firmware: NFB1.20230504.0019
Neat Board firmware: NFC1.20230504.0019
Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230504.0025
Neat Frame firmware: NFF1.20230504.0023

Saturday September 16th:

The built-in Zoom Room versions are

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.15.8 (3555)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.15.7 (2163)

More information about the latest version of Zoom can be found here:

Saturday August 5th:

The built-in Microsoft Teams Room versions are

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202305022347.product
Companyportal : 5.0.5484.0
Teams Rooms Devices (MTRA U2): 1449/1.0.96.2023062301
Panels (Panels U2): 1449/1.0.97.2023060102
Display (Display U2): 1449/1.0.95.2023042701

More information about the latest version of Microsoft Teams can be found here:

*NOTE: Neat devices get the current Stable version of Microsoft Teams Rooms as part of the out of box setup, and this may differ from what is listed in this article. Any future updates to Microsoft Teams apps need to be done through TAC.

The features introduced in this release are:

Android security patch level
Changes to Neat system settings layout
BYOD Mode support on Neat Bar Pro
Microphone sensitivity controlled by framing boundary depth
Dereverberation on Neat Bar Pro and Neat Frame
Smart camera controls in Microsoft Teams
Neat Frame setting for portrait orientation in Zoom
Bluetooth option in Neat Frame swipe menu
Neat Frame handset support
Maximum 720p resolution in Multistream on Bar Pro
SCEP support for 802.1x (Beta)
Support for Norwegian and Swedish languages
Other improvements

2.1 Android security patch level

In this release we have updated the Android security patch level on Neat devices. Because of this, you will no longer be able to downgrade your firmware under any circumstances. If a firmware update is downloaded from the Preview channel, you will no longer be able to revert back to the Stable channel firmware. Your firmware version will not change until a more recent version becomes available.

2.2 Changes to Neat system settings layout

Neat’s system settings menu has changed! In this release you will notice that the previously green menu buttons, toggles, and sliders, have been changed to a Neat shade of purple. The “Pairing” menu on the Neat Pad and Neat Board has been renamed to “Devices”.

We have also added a “Display” menu under system settings that contains the following options:

Appearance
This setting allows you to switch your system settings menu between light mode and dark Mode

Screen Brightness
There is now a slider that allows you to control the brightness of your screen

Power Saving
The settings for “Screen standby” and “Auto wake up” have been removed from the System menu and are now located under the Display menu.

Display Preference
The setting to switch your display preference between higher resolution and lower latency modes has been removed from the “Audio & video” menu and is now located under the Display menu.

This menu can be accessed using the menu path (System settings -> Display).

2.3 BYOD Mode support on Neat Bar Pro

The BYOD Mode feature is now available on the Neat Bar Pro. In this release you are able to connect your Neat Bar Pro’s camera, microphone, and speakers to a computer using a USB-C cable and bring the Neat experience to any video conferencing platform.

More information about using our BYOD Mode feature can be found in the following support article: https://support.neat.no/article/usb-mode-beta/

2.4 Microphone sensitivity reduced with Framing Boundary depth

In previous releases, the microphone sensitivity on Neat products was optimized to pick up voices at certain distances that could not be adjusted. In scenarios where all users are sitting close to the system, like open office environments, having such a high microphone sensitivity creates the unintended consequence of background voices and other noises being loud relative to the voices of the users. This creates a poor audio experience for far-end meeting participants.

In this release, the microphone sensitivity will be reduced as the framing boundary depth is reduced. This means there will be fewer issues with background noises in the scenarios where users are close to the device.

You can configure your framing boundary depth from the “Audio & video” menu in your Neat system settings (System settings -> Audio & video -> Framing boundary).

2.5 Dereverberation on Neat Bar Pro and Neat Frame

We have updated our audio processing systems on the Neat Bar Pro and Neat Frame to include dereverberation. Reverb is an effect caused by audio waves reflecting off surfaces in a room to create a “cavernous” or “echoey” quality that gets picked up by the microphone. This has a negative impact on speech intelligibility and creates a poor audio experience for far-end meeting participants.

Our latest voice isolation model for the Neat Frame and Neat Bar Pro attempts to reduce the detrimental effects of reverberation in the captured microphone signal. For far-end meeting participants, voices in the room will now sound closer to the microphone and be easier to understand.

You can enable dereverberation on a Neat Bar Pro by toggling “Voice isolation (beta)” in the “Audio & video” menu of your Neat system settings (System settings -> Audio & video -> Voice Isolation (beta)). On the Neat Frame dereverberation will be enabled by default.

Note: While this will improve the effect of reverberation on speech, there is no perfect solution and you may still want to apply acoustic treatment to your room for optimal audio. More information on how to set up your room for optimal audio quality can be found here: https://support.neat.no/article/sound-advice-from-neat/

2.6 Smart camera controls in Microsoft Teams

Smart camera controls allow in-room users to adjust framing of the room camera in a meeting, selecting between a view that automatically centers everyone in the frame or one that zooms in on each person in the room and combines everyone in a single frame. IT Admins can control the default behavior in the device settings.

Note: This feature is only available for devices with a Teams Rooms Pro license.

2.7 Neat Frame setting for portrait orientation in Zoom

After updating your Neat Frame to Zoom Rooms version 5.14.7 or later, the Frame will have a “Scale to Fit” setting for portrait cropped views during meetings with only one other participant. This gives users a more lifelike face to face experience due to the portrait orientation of the Neat Frame’s screen.

This can be configured in the Neat Frame’s advanced Zoom Room settings (Settings -> Advanced -> Scale to Fit). You can also enable this view during Zoom calls by selecting the “View” option and toggling the “Scale to Fit” setting.

2.8 Bluetooth options in Neat Frame swipe menu

Bluetooth options are now available in the swipe menu on the Neat Frame. To access this swipe menu on your Neat Frame, please do the following:

Swipe with one finger from the right side of the Frame towards the left
A slide out menu will appear with bluetooth control options

2.9 Neat Frame handset support

You can now connect handsets to your Neat Frame using the USB-C port on the back of the device. This gives users more flexibility to use their own third party equipment in conjunction with their Neat Frame.

2.10 Maximum 720p resolution while using Zoom’s multistream on Neat Bar Pro

After upgrading your Neat Bar Pro to Zoom Rooms version 5.14.5 or later, each dynamic frame will be sent with a maximum of 720p resolution. In previous releases, dynamic frames were limited to a maximum of 360p resolution.

2.11 SCEP support for 802.1x (beta)

In this release, Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) is now supported while setting up Neat devices with 802.1x network security configurations. SCEP allows for automatic certificate issuing and renewal in a scalable way, and this update will make it easier to roll out a large number of Neat devices with 802.1x configurations.

More information about setting up 802.1x with SCEP can be found in the following support article: https://support.neat.no/article/how-to-set-up-802-1x-using-scep-on-neat-devices-beta/

2.12 Support for Norwegian and Swedish languages

The Norwegian and Swedish languages are now supported on Neat devices running Microsoft Teams.

2.13 Other improvements

This release includes minor bug fixes for all Neat devices, and improvements to camera white balance, microphone noise reduction, and voice isolation on the Neat Frame and Neat Bar Pro.

3. Fixed bugs and improvements

Original Release

Issue reference	Description
CUS-216	In previous releases, Neat devices were not able to connect to Wifi sources configured with Adaptive 11r enabled. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-538	In previous releases, it was possible for the screen to freeze or go dark while using BYOD mode on a Neat Bar. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-550	In previous releases, it was possible for nearby Wifi access points with Adaptive 11r enabled to interfere with a Neat Board’s internet connectivity. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-579	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Board’s “Keep Screen ON” setting to revert from “off” to “on” after the device was rebooted. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-580	In previous releases, adjusting the volume on a Neat Board or Neat Frame running Microsoft Teams did not always increase the volume in even increments. In this release the volume will always increase or decrease by an increment of 5.
CUS-603 CUS-714	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Frame to lose microphone audio if a bluetooth headset set as the default audio choice gets disconnected. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-613	In previous releases, it was possible for content shared via HDMI on a Neat Bar Pro to show up distorted with green artifacts on the screen. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-614	In previous releases, connecting the Neat Bar to certain displays resulted in video latency and lipsync issues. In this release we have made improvements that should reduce the amount of delay in those scenarios.
CUS-634	In previous releases, it was possible for USB audio equipment to become deselected in Zoom after rebooting a Neat Bar Pro. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-643	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Bar Pro running Microsoft Teams to send video with a 4:3 aspect ratio. In this release we have made some changes to limit the number of scenarios where the Microsoft Teams application requests video in a 4:3 format.
CUS-644	In previous releases, it was possible for a single monitor connected to a Neat Bar Pro with HDMI CEC enabled to remain powered off when auto wake up is used to bring the device out of standby mode. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-654	In previous releases, adjusting the volume slider from a Neat Pad functioning as a Microsoft Teams Room controller did not have any impact on device volume during Direct Guest Join meetings from Microsoft Teams to Zoom or Microsoft Teams to Webex. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-662	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Pad set up as a Microsoft Teams panel to lose network connection and become unresponsive until physically rebooted. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-720	In a preview version of this release (NFD1.20230504.0023), certain USB audio systems would not function as expected while “Audio over USB” was enabled on the Neat Bar Pro. This issue has been resolved in the latest version of this release (NFD1.20230504.0025).

Hotfixes

Issue reference	Description
CUS-759	In the previous version of our latest release (NFD1.20230504.0025), there was an issue that could cause a Neat Bar Pro to go offline and become unreachable until it was rebooted. This issue has been resolved in this release.

4. Known issues

Issue reference	Description
INBUGS-31	‘Unable to verify certificate’ message displayed when uploading CA certificate which has a text part before the actual certificate part. To work-around this issue, copy only the certificate portion (BEGIN CERTIFICATE / END CERTIFICATE) to a file and save it as .pem/.cert etc.
ZOOM-93	In this release, it is not possible to disable Zoom’s ‘Advanced Noise Suppression’ feature. As a result, any users using the ‘Music mode’ feature will notice that their audio is being suppressed by Zoom’s noise suppression algorithm, making the experience poor. This issue is being investigated by the Zoom engineering team.
CUS-326	In this release, color correction configuration options are available in the accessibility settings on the Neat Board and Neat Bar Pro, but enabling the feature will not have any effect on the screen.
CUS-415 CUS-574	In this release it is possible for the Neat Board’s screen to become unresponsive after entering screen standby mode, requiring a power cycle in order to bring the device back online. To work around this issue, you can disable auto wake up in your Neat system settings and enable “Keep Screen ON” in your screen standby settings.
CUS-544	In this release, it is possible for audio from a Neat Bar to sound choppy to far end participants during Direct Guest Join calls.
CUS-568	In this release, it is possible for a display connected to the HDMI2 port on a Neat Bar Pro with HDMI CEC enabled to stay powered on when the device enters standby mode.
CUS-578	In this release, it is possible for a display connected to the HDMI1 port on a Neat Bar Pro with HDMI CEC enabled to stay powered on when the device enters standby mode.
CUS-584	In this release, it is possible for shared HDMI content on a Neat Bar Pro running Zoom to remain on the screen for several seconds (up to 10) after the HDMI cable has been disconnected.
CUS-627	In this release, it is possible for the display connected to the HDMI1 port of a Neat Bar to not get turned off with CEC commands when the Neat Bar enters standby mode.
CUS-635	In this release, if a Neat Bar is rebooted while BYOD mode is enabled and in use, the Neat camera and Microphone will no longer function as expected until the USB-C cable is unplugged and replugged from the device.
CUS-651	In this release, it is possible for a Neat Bar and Neat Pad to lose the ability to pair over Wifi.
CUS-668	In this release, it is possible for digital signage in Zoom to be displayed incorrectly on a display connected to the HDMI2 port on a Neat Bar Pro.
CUS-727	In this release, it is possible to hear a static noise while sharing audio content over HDMI on a Neat Bar Pro.
CUS-753	When a Neat Bar Pro is updated from our previous version (NFD1.20221128.0011) to our current release (NFD1.20230504.0025), it is possible for a “No camera” warning to appear. This can be resolved by rebooting the device.
CUS-756	In this release, it is possible for a Neat Bar Pro to lose CEC functionality after updating from our previous version (NFD1.20221128.0011) to our current release (NFD1.20230504.0025). This can be resolved by rebooting the device.
CUS-760	In this release, it is possible for a Neat device to show an “untrusted server certificate” warning due to a network timing issue. Rebooting the device should resolve the error in these scenarios.
CUS-775	In this release, it is possible for logs gathered from a Neat device to be filled with repeated error messages unrelated to its current behavior. This can overwrite log history so events that occurred up to 3hrs prior to the time logs were recovered are no longer visible.
CUS-811	In this release, it is possible for a Neat Bar or Neat Board to become unresponsive on the BYOD mode screen after a USB-C connection is removed. Rebooting the device will restore functionality.
INBUGS-1663	In this release, external audio hardware is not synchronized with the mute indicator and volume slider in Zoom or Microsoft Teams while using Audio over USB on a Neat Bar Pro.
INBUGS-1664	In this release, switching between external audio hardware and the internal speaker while using Audio over USB on a Neat Bar Pro does not always work during a Zoom meeting.

5. Version History

Saturday September 16th:

The built-in Zoom Room versions are

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.15.8 (3555)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.15.7 (2163)

This is a Zoom application only update for Neat devices.

Saturday September 2nd:

The Neat firmware builds in this upgrade are

Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230504.0027

The built-in Zoom Room versions are

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.15.5 (3393)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.15.5 (10506)

This update resolves the issue CUS-759 on the Neat Bar Pro and introduces Zoom Rooms version 5.15.5

Saturday August 5th:
The Neat firmware builds in this upgrade are

Neat Pad firmware: NFA1.20230504.0202
Neat Bar firmware: NFB1.20230504.0019
Neat Board firmware: NFC1.20230504.0019
Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230504.0025
Neat Frame firmware: NFF1.20230504.0023

The built-in Zoom Room versions are

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.15.0 (2095)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.15.1 (3305)

6. How to check if you have the new build

Zoom Rooms Software Versions: Click on the Settings button on the lower left corner of Neat Pad or Neat Board. Then click on ‘About’. The Zoom software version numbers will be displayed on the right.

Microsoft Teams Software Versions: Click on the “More” button on the main screen of the Neat Pad or Neat Board, then click on “Settings” and “About” and the Microsoft Teams software version numbers will be displayed.

Neat Board/ Neat Bar / Neat Pad Firmware Versions: Click on the Settings button on the lower left corner of Neat Pad or lower right corner of Neat Board. Then click on ‘General’ and on the right, you’ll see the meeting room name displayed. Below the room name, you should find an option named ‘System Settings’. If you click on this, you’ll be prompted to enter the system passcode (this passcode is listed with the room settings in the Zoom Room administrator portal).

You will now have entered Neat’s System Settings. Next navigate from System Settings -> System -> About and you should be able to view the serial number and firmware versions for each device.

You can also see the serial number and firmware version of your Neat devices in the Zoom Room administrator portal and the Teams Admin Center (TAC) online portal.

7. Getting help from Neat

We encourage you to visit our support website and view new articles, FAQs, how-to and troubleshooting guides which are being regularly added there. Please search the following page to find answers to your common questions or problems: https://support.neat.no

If you encounter an issue with your Neat device, please email: support@neat.no and one of our technical support engineers will reach out to you.

Note: Neat provides support on Neat devices running current released software, or running software from the previous release. For more information on our support policy, please see the article ‘Neat’s technical support policy’.

IMPORTANT: Please see our privacy policy at https://neat.no/privacy-policy/