Neat devices: Version 20230928 Release Notes

Last updated on December 4, 2023

If you would like to receive email notifications for new releases, please subscribe here.

1. Introduction

This document describes the new features, improvements, bug fixes and known issues in the 20230928 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, November 11th, 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 20230928 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-20230504-release-notes/

2. What’s new?

Saturday November 25th:
The built-in Zoom Room versions are:

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.16.5 (2354)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.16.5 (3917)

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

Saturday November 11th:
The Neat firmware builds in this upgrade are:

Neat Pad firmware: NFA1.20230928.0116
Neat Bar firmware: NFB1.20230928.0015
Neat Board firmware: NFC1.20230928.0015
Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230928.0015
Neat Frame firmware: NFF1.20230928.0015
Neat Board 50 firmware: NFH1.20230928.0015

The built-in Microsoft Teams versions are:

Microsoft Teams Rooms Devices (Neat Bar, Neat Bar Pro, Neat Board, and Neat Pad as a controller):

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Company Portal (for MTR devices): 5.0.6040.0
Teams Rooms Devices (MTRA U2B): 1449/1.0.96.2023103002

Microsoft Teams Displays (Neat Frame):

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Company Portal (for Displays and Panels): 5.0.5484.0
Display (Display U2A): 1449/1.0.95.2023061601

Microsoft Teams Panels (Neat Pad as a scheduler):

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Company Portal (for Displays and Panels): 5.0.5484.0
Panels (Panels U3): 1449/1.0.97.2023080401

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

The features introduced in this release are:

Android 10 on Neat Pad
Support for Neat Board 50
Voice Isolation (beta) and dereverberation on Neat Bar and Neat Board
Removed beta flag from voice isolation on Neat Bar Pro and Neat Frame
Pairing screen no longer displayed while setting up Neat Pad for room availability
Replaced “Irkutsk” with “Singapore” time zone
Regular polling of Neat Pulse web server
Additional Neat Pulse information shown on devices
Neat Symmetry layout changes
Improved echo cancellation when users are close to the device
Improvements to neat-dot1x-cli python tool
Updated Chromium version on Neat devices
Improved audio stability while using Direct Guest Join on Neat Bar and Neat Board
Removed auto framing from system settings in Microsoft Teams
Hot desking improvements for Neat Frame running Microsoft Teams
Automatic updates for Microsoft Teams
Other improvements

2.1 Android 10 on Neat Pad

In this release the Neat Pad is upgrading its Android version to Android 10.

Neat Pads that are rebooting through an automatic nightly process will complete the entire update process without the need for any manual intervention.

Note: You will only be able to manually upgrade a Neat Pad to this version from our previous release (20230504). If you are setting up a Neat Pad for the first time or manually updating your Neat Pad and it is updating from a firmware version that is two or more versions behind the current release, your Neat Pad will first upgrade to the 20230504 version and you will be prompted to update the device again in order to receive our latest 20230928 release.

If you are upgrading manually, from TAC, or from ZDM, and you are running a version earlier than our 20230504 release, you will see the 20230504 version as the next available update.

2.2 Support for Neat Board 50

This is the first Neat software release that is officially supported on the Neat Board 50.

The Neat Board 50 is an exciting new addition to the Neat product line, and is currently available for pre-order! More information can be found here: https://neat.no/board-50/

2.3 Voice isolation (beta) and dereverberation on Neat Bar and Neat Board

Voice isolation is now available on the Neat Bar and Neat Board!

With our deep noise suppression model being added to Neat Bars and Neat Boards, the microphones on on these devices can now remove most unwanted noises while preserving the clarity of voices. This model includes dereverberation, which is designed to reduce the detrimental effect of audio waves reflecting off surfaces in the room to create a “cavernous” or “echoey” quality.

This will not be enabled by default. To enable noise suppression, enter the “Audio & video” page in the Neat system settings of your device and enable the “Voice isolation (beta)” toggle.

Note: This feature processes microphone signals, and it is therefore the far-end participants that will benefit from this feature.

Note: While this will improve the quality of speech picked up by our microphones, 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/

2.4 Removed beta flag for voice isolation on Neat Bar Pro and Neat Frame

Voice isolation is no longer a beta feature on the Neat Bar Pro and Neat Frame, and the beta flag has been removed from the toggle in Neat system settings.

This update also introduces the voice isolation toggle to the Neat Frame’s system settings. Using this toggle you can choose to disable the use of Neat’s noise suppression algorithm. Voice isolation will be enabled by default.

2.5 Pairing screen no longer displayed while setting up Neat Pad for room availability

While setting up a Neat Pad as a scheduler device for the first time, the option to pair with another device on the Neat level is no longer shown after selecting “Add a Neat Pad for Room Availability”

2.6 Replaced “Irkutsk” with “Singapore” time zone

In this release the “Irkutsk” time zone has been replaced with a “Singapore” time zone.

2.7 Regular polling of Neat Pulse web server

In order to prepare for bulk enrollment of Neat devices in Neat Pulse, Neat devices that are not enrolled in a Neat Pulse Control tenant will now actively poll our Neat Pulse web server. Upon startup, these devices will poll sec.pulse.neat.no once per hour using https until the device is enrolled in a Neat Pulse Control tenant.

Note: Bulk enrollment of Neat devices into a Neat Pulse Control tenant is not fully supported. This feature will be available in a future version of Neat Pulse Control. More information about the latest version of Neat Pulse Control can be found here: https://support.neat.no/article/neat-pulse-control-version-release-notes/

2.8 Additional Neat Pulse information shown on devices

If a device is enrolled in a Neat Pulse Control tenant, additional information including the device name, id, profile, and location, will now appear under the Neat Pulse menu in the device’s system settings.

2.9 Neat Symmetry layout changes

While using individual auto framing, groups of 4 people will now be displayed in a 2×2 layout instead of a 1×4 layout. Based on customer feedback we’ve found that 2×2 layout generally results in a more pleasing framing of the people in the room when compared to the tall and narrow crops that result from 1×4 layouts.

2.10 Improved echo cancellation when users are close to the device

In this release we have improved echo cancellation in scenarios where there is a lot of movement in front of the device, such as when users are white boarding or interacting with a touch screen display.

2.11 Improvements to neat-dot1x-cli python tool

Our python tool for 802.1x setup has been updated for better error handling and user friendliness.

More information about setting up 802.1x on Neat devices and checking the version of your python tool can be found here: https://support.neat.no/article/how-to-configure-802-1x-on-neat-devices/

2.12 Updated Chromium version on Neat devices

In order to help improve the Direct Guest Join experience provided by Zoom and Microsoft, Neat has updated the Chromium version on all Neat devices to version M117.

2.13 Improved audio stability while using Direct Guest Join on Neat Bar and Neat Board

After working with Microsoft and Zoom to identify the root cause of audio issues heard during Direct Guest Join calls from Neat Bars and Neat Boards that are set up as Zoom Rooms and joining Microsoft Teams meetings, we have made some changes in our firmware to improve the way audio is handled in these scenarios.

Note: While these changes have helped to significantly reduce the number of audio glitches heard during Direct Guest Join calls on Neat Bars and Neat Boards, a full fix for any Direct Guest Join issues will need to be provided by Zoom and Microsoft.

2.14 Removed auto framing from system settings in Microsoft Teams

In this release devices running Microsoft Teams will no longer see auto framing configuration options in the device’s system settings. This setting is still located in the slide menu on the right hand side of the screen and can be updated any time the device is in a meeting.

2.15 Hot desking improvements for Neat Frame running Microsoft Teams

This version contains improvements to the hot desking experience on a Neat Frame running Microsoft Teams.

2.16 Automatic updates for Microsoft Teams

Devices running Microsoft Teams will now have their Microsoft application versions automatically updated alongside Neat firmware updates. This includes the Teams application, Company Portal, and Admin Agent versions.

2.17 Other improvements

This release includes improvements for Wifi pairing on all Neat devices, improvements to camera white balance on the Neat Frame and Neat Bar Pro, and other minor bug fixes for all Neat devices.

3. Fixed bugs and improvements

Issue reference	Description
CUS-405	In previous releases, it was possible for HDMI content sharing to fail intermittently on a Neat Bar Pro. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-574	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Board’s screen to become unresponsive after entering screen standby mode, requiring a power cycle in order to bring the device back online. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-627	In previous releases, it was 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. This has been resolved in this release.
CUS-704	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Pad to be unable to find a Neat Bar to pair with over Wifi in certain scenarios. This has been resolved in this release.
CUS-714	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Frame’s microphone to stop sending audio into a Microsoft Teams call after switching from a bluetooth microphone to the native hardware. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-753	When updating a Neat Bar Pro to our previous version (NFD1.20230504.0025), it was possible for a “No camera” warning to appear after the update. This has been resolved in this release.
CUS-756	When updating a Neat Bar Pro to our previous version (NFD1.20230504.0025), it was possible for the device to lose CEC functionality after the update. This has been resolved in this release.
CUS-764	In our previous release, it was possible for USB speakers connected to a Neat Bar Pro to not function as expected during Direct Guest Join calls. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-775	In our previous release, it was possible for logs gathered from a Neat device to be filled with repeated error messages unrelated to its current behavior that could make it so a majority of log history was no longer visible. This has been resolved in this release.
CUS-780	In previous releases, it was possible for the camera on a Neat Bar Pro to not initialize properly while joining Microsoft Teams calls, resulting in no camera feed being sent from the Neat Bar Pro. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-804	In previous releases, Neat’s auto framing settings on a device running Microsoft Teams would revert back to “individuals” after a reboot instead of keeping the previous selection. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-805	In previous releases, it was possible for the Microsoft Teams application to request aspect ratios other than 16:9 from a Neat Board, which resulted in a compressed video feed and a forced reframing of individuals in the room. This issue has been resolved in this release.
CUS-791	In previous releases, it was possible for a Neat Frame to become unresponsive after entering standby mode. This has been resolved in this release.
INBUGS-1966	In previous releases, it was possible for the Microsoft Teams application to request aspect ratios other than 16:9 from a Neat Frame, which resulted in a compressed video feed and a forced reframing of individuals in the room. This issue has been resolved in this release.
INBUGS-2052	In previous releases, it was possible for the “about” page on a Neat device to show that the device is connected even when there is no internet connection. 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-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-587	In this release, it is possible for a display connected to the HDMI2 port on a Neat Bar to remain unresponsive when auto wake is used to bring the device out of 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-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-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.
CUS-822	In this release, it is possible for a Neat Frame to emit a “quacking” or “buzzing” noise during calls that far-end users can hear.
CUS-860	In this release, it is possible to hear a static noise on a Neat Bar Pro if an HDMI cable is plugged in for content sharing while audio is already playing on the laptop or computer that content is being shared from.
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.
INBUGS-2114	In this release it is possible for a Neat Pad to emit a notification “chime” noise while launching applications
CA-353	In this release, if BYOD Mode is enabled on a Neat device, plugging in a USB-C cable during an active meeting will cause the Neat device to open BYOD Mode and drop the active Zoom or Microsoft Teams session.

5. Version History

Saturday November 25th:

The built-in Zoom Room versions are:

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.16.5 (2354)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.16.5 (3917)

Saturday November 11th:
The Neat firmware builds in this upgrade are:

Neat Pad firmware: NFA1.20230928.0116
Neat Bar firmware: NFB1.20230928.0015
Neat Board firmware: NFC1.20230928.0015
Neat Bar Pro firmware: NFD1.20230928.0015
Neat Frame firmware: NFF1.20230928.0015
Neat Board 50 firmware: NFH1.20230928.0015

The built-in Zoom Room versions are:

Zoom Room Controller software version: 5.16.1 (2286)
Zoom Room Appliance software version: 5.16.0 (3769)

The built-in Microsoft Teams versions are:

Microsoft Teams Rooms Devices (Neat Bar, Neat Bar Pro, Neat Board, and Neat Pad as a controller):

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Company Portal (for MTR devices): 5.0.6040.0
Teams Rooms Devices (MTRA U2B): 1449/1.0.96.2023103002

Microsoft Teams Displays (Neat Frame):

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Company Portal (for Displays and Panels): 5.0.5484.0
Display (Display U2A): 1449/1.0.95.2023061601

Microsoft Teams Panels (Neat Pad as a scheduler):

Admin Agent: 1.0.0.202306202019.product
Company Portal (for Displays and Panels): 5.0.5484.0
Panels (Panels U3): 1449/1.0.97.2023080401

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, Neat Board, or Neat Frame. 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, Neat Board, or Neat Frame. Then click on “Settings” and “About” and the Microsoft Teams software version numbers will be displayed.

Neat Firmware Versions: From your Neat system settings, 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/