When Skype for Business on Mac tries to join a meeting, the client passes the meeting URL to Unified Communications Web API (UCWA). In some cases, there can be additional parameters in the URL that are not recognized by Skype for Business Server. If it is not viewed, you will receive 'Sender sent you a message in Skype for Business' or 'Missed conversation with Sender' email if more than one message was sent. A co-worker initiates an IM conversation with you. Your presence status is set to In a Call, In a Meeting, or In a Conference Call. In Skype for Business: Double-click to open a missed conversation. Unread messages with the conversation will be indicated by an orange dot. Missed conversation indicators will clear automatically after the conversations have been viewed or after they've been tabbed through. Be notified if have missed messages via Windows Alerts. Windows Alerts will let you know if you have missed messages. With Skype for Business Server, however, conversation histories, missed call notifications, and missed IM notifications can now be stored on the server instead of in client mailboxes; this change makes these items readily available to mobile devices.
Last October I reviewed the Skype for Business iOS client. Three readers commented about a bug they experienced while using it.
'Whenever I miss a conversation (why is it missed?) I can see the first few words of the message I missed but when I click on it, I can’t see the rest. I can never see the full message. Where does it go?'
'Nearly every day, I will see that I had a message come in, and I will only see the first few words. “Hey, Liza! It’s really important that weâ€'â€� and then when I tap into the conversation, it’s gone. Unrecoverable.'
'I have the same frustrating problem â€' I will miss a message, but when I go to open it I can only see the first few words followed by “…â€�, then I click on it and it brings me to a new message screen. I can never see my missed messages, which is the whole point of having this app in the first place.'
Last October I reviewed the Skype for Business iOS client. Three readers commented about a bug they experienced while using it.
'Whenever I miss a conversation (why is it missed?) I can see the first few words of the message I missed but when I click on it, I can’t see the rest. I can never see the full message. Where does it go?'
'Nearly every day, I will see that I had a message come in, and I will only see the first few words. “Hey, Liza! It’s really important that weâ€'â€� and then when I tap into the conversation, it’s gone. Unrecoverable.'
'I have the same frustrating problem â€' I will miss a message, but when I go to open it I can only see the first few words followed by “…â€�, then I click on it and it brings me to a new message screen. I can never see my missed messages, which is the whole point of having this app in the first place.'
I promised to investigate, and so I did. Unfortunately, I don't have many answers.
Three Parts Investigate, Only One Part Success
I took three paths to investigate the missing-message issue.
Save Conversation Skype For Business
- Examine app reviews for other user impressions,
- Do some more support research, and
- Try to duplicate this in our office.
First up, review. How widespread is the issue? How many people does this affect? I checked reviews on the App Store and Microsoft-related forums, like this one: iOS Client for Skype for Business 2015 – SkypeFeedback.com
'Missed messages vanishing' is mentioned in both places. As are other sync issues such as voicemail. In fact the limitations are clearly wearing on iOS users. Makes me wonder how the new Mac client will turn out after the preview releases.
Research: From the bug description, it sounds like a failure of Server-Side Conversation History. Which informed my search. Offsetsrf failure on complex polysurface. Is your Conversation History fully enabled? If you're not sure, here's how to check: Enable Server Side Conversation History – Martin Boam's Microsoft UC Blog
I did find this note on an Office Support page:
'Note: Conversations that were accepted on other Skype for Business (Lync) clients but were missed on your mobile device don’t appear in the Chats tab.'
Might explain some instances of this happening. I'm sure it doesn't explain all, though. It didn't explain mine!
Duplication: I was logged into Skype4B on my iPhone, but answered a new message on my laptop. Sure enough, I saw a 'Missed' conversation on my phone's Chats tab. And it contained the message contents when I checked it 15 minutes later. Hmmm.
In fact I could not duplicate the 'missed message' issue no matter what. We tried two other iPhones, one 5 and two 6s in total. I even removed the Skype for Business client and reinstalled fresh.
We definitely have a bug here. But it's not consistent.
Is the Bug Already Updated?
Skype For Business Mac Missed Conversation Email Messages
Skype for Business on iOS received updates recently – the latest of which came on May 2 (described as 'general bug fixes'). My client automatically updated before I tested for the missing-message bug. So did the other iPhones I tried. This might be the reason why I didn't have any trouble.
(By the way, I mentioned in the review that you couldn't see a contact's Contact Card in the iOS client. You can now–just tap a contact and tap their name. You'll see a 'See Contact Card' option drop down.)
I know losing a message for any reason is frustrating. Right now, the best I can do is advise a safer practice:
- Use the iOS client for calls and meeting reminders. Unfortunately, this bug means it's a bit unreliable when it comes to Instant Messaging. Still works, yes, but if you want to share important information with colleagues, use the Call button.
- Update your iOS client to the latest version, and keep it updated. Even general bug fixes can have a big help.
Skype For Business Mac Missed Conversation Email Message
If you've updated your Skype for Business iOS client to the latest version, do you still see the 'missing messages' bug? Please comment or email me your experience. If Microsoft fixed this bug, then we're all a bit better off! If not, the bug needs reporting.
