I’ve noticed that I’ve been asked quite a few times over the past year about how to upgrade the Lync 2013 client to Skype for Business 2015 and through speaking to colleagues and clients, I think the confusion is caused by the fact that the Lync 2013 client could be upgraded to Skype for Business 2015 through Windows updates and the update applied isn’t something an administrator would easily spot in a list that could contain a screen full of line items. Not knowing the patch required to upgrade the client then becomes a problem when administrators need to package Lync 2013 / Skype for Business 2015 installation packages for their desktops. To avoid having to reference my notes when being asked this question again, I figured it would be best to write this blog post for future reference.
Begin by installing the Lync 2013 RTM client with the version:
Lync 2013 – 15.0.4569.1503
MSO – 15.0.4701.1000
Once the Lync 2013 client is installed, you can install any of the following updates to upgrade Lync 2013 to Skype for Business 2015:
- April 14 2015 – KB2889923
- July 14 2015 – KB3054946
- October 13 2015 – KB3085581
The following screenshots shows how installing the April 14 2015 – KB2889923 update will change the Lync 2013 item in the start menu to Skype for Business 2015:
lyncmso2013-kb2889923-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
Lync 2013 – 15.0.4711.1002
MSO – 15.0.4711.1000
The following screenshots demonstrates how installing the July 14 2015 – KB3054946 update would return the same results:
lync2013-kb3054946-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
Lync 2013 – 15.0.4737.100
MSO – 15.0.4711.1000
Finally, installing the latest October 13 2015 – KB3085581 update would also work:
lync2013-kb3085581-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
Lync 2013 – 15.0.4763.1001
MSO – 15.0.4711.1000
Hope this helps anyone looking for the specific patches that would update Lync 2013 to Skype for Business 2015.
