- Joined
- Apr 6, 2017
- Messages
- 105
- Reaction score
- 43
Does this signal the end for the Desktop App?
With the latest 18U8 build 917, there's no longer an option to download the Desktop App from the Webclient interface. The download link inside the 3CX Partner Portal for the Desktop App now redirects to an installer page for the PWA instead of the Desktop App MSI. Systems are still able to update to the latest Desktop App if it's already installed, but there doesn't seem to be any straightforward way to access the MSI anymore. There's no mention of these changes in the Desktop App changelog https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/web-client-desktop-app/ or the main changelog https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/ of the Desktop App installer being removed.
I understand that 3CX is trying to push the PWA, but the PWA doesn't offer keyboard shortcuts, this is a MUST HAVE for a desktop app. The PWA app feels like a management nightmare from an MSP perspective. I foresee many outdated browsers failing to properly run the PWA, with no great intervention method for us to ensure browser compliance across all the different browsers out there. We had update/installer packages built in our RMM to ensure version compliance on the Desktop App and we were able to easily deploy those en masse.
The Desktop App is a software that I have literally hundreds of clients using, and now it's unavailable without notice. When/where/how was this conveyed to partners that access to this program would be removed? How long will the app continue to work before being fully deprecated? How long will updates to security for the app continue? The real frustration here is that it feels like this was thrust upon the community without feedback from partners.
This feels exactly like the Phone for Windows situation, where the installer is pulled, but because of market penetration, there's no real way to make this app go away, and we're going to still see people using it in 2 years. The partners are the ones who are going to suffer trying to maintain current versions of multiple applications across different installations.
Am I missing some key pieces of what's happening here?
With the latest 18U8 build 917, there's no longer an option to download the Desktop App from the Webclient interface. The download link inside the 3CX Partner Portal for the Desktop App now redirects to an installer page for the PWA instead of the Desktop App MSI. Systems are still able to update to the latest Desktop App if it's already installed, but there doesn't seem to be any straightforward way to access the MSI anymore. There's no mention of these changes in the Desktop App changelog https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/web-client-desktop-app/ or the main changelog https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/ of the Desktop App installer being removed.
I understand that 3CX is trying to push the PWA, but the PWA doesn't offer keyboard shortcuts, this is a MUST HAVE for a desktop app. The PWA app feels like a management nightmare from an MSP perspective. I foresee many outdated browsers failing to properly run the PWA, with no great intervention method for us to ensure browser compliance across all the different browsers out there. We had update/installer packages built in our RMM to ensure version compliance on the Desktop App and we were able to easily deploy those en masse.
The Desktop App is a software that I have literally hundreds of clients using, and now it's unavailable without notice. When/where/how was this conveyed to partners that access to this program would be removed? How long will the app continue to work before being fully deprecated? How long will updates to security for the app continue? The real frustration here is that it feels like this was thrust upon the community without feedback from partners.
This feels exactly like the Phone for Windows situation, where the installer is pulled, but because of market penetration, there's no real way to make this app go away, and we're going to still see people using it in 2 years. The partners are the ones who are going to suffer trying to maintain current versions of multiple applications across different installations.
Am I missing some key pieces of what's happening here?
