Windows 365 - Cloud Apps now support APPX and MSIX applications

Cloud Apps for Windows 365 have expanded their capabilities by adding support for APPX and MSIX applications, in addition to traditional Win32 apps. This enhancement allows administrators to discover and publish a broader range of applications, including modern apps such as Microsoft Teams and the new Outlook.

With this update, Cloud Apps provisioning policies can surface more application types, enabling greater flexibility in how apps are delivered to users. For environments that already have Cloud Apps configured, reprovisioning existing policies is required to enable the discovery of APPX and MSIX applications. Once reprovisioned, these apps appear seamlessly alongside existing Win32 applications.

The overall management experience remains unchanged. Admins continue to use the same discovery, publishing, and assignment workflows, while gaining the ability to deliver modern Windows applications through Cloud Apps.

Real‑world use case

Consider an organization using Windows 365 Cloud PCs for contractors, temporary staff, or front‑line workers. Previously, IT teams may have relied on Win32 packages or full desktop images to provide access to essential tools. Modern applications such as the new Outlook, Microsoft Teams (MSIX‑based), or line‑of‑business apps built using MSIX may not have been easily discoverable through Cloud Apps.

With APPX and MSIX support enabled, IT can now publish these modern apps directly as Cloud Apps without re‑engineering deployment methods. For example, a contractor accessing a Cloud PC can launch Microsoft Teams as a Cloud App without needing a full desktop session. This reduces onboarding time, improves performance, and ensures users always access the supported application version.

This is especially valuable for hybrid or distributed teams where users need quick access to specific apps rather than an entire virtual desktop environment.

Benefits for IT teams

One of the biggest benefits for IT teams is improved application coverage. Many modern Microsoft and third‑party apps are now built using APPX or MSIX packaging. Supporting these formats removes a long‑standing limitation and reduces the need to maintain alternate Win32 versions or workarounds.

Operational efficiency also improves. Since the publishing and management workflow remains the same, IT teams do not need additional training or tooling. Existing Cloud Apps policies can simply be reprovisioned, allowing teams to extend functionality without redesigning their deployment strategy.

Security and consistency are another key advantage. MSIX apps are containerized and follow modern Windows security standards, such as clean installs, reliable uninstall behavior, and reduced risk of system‑level changes. By delivering these apps through Cloud Apps, IT teams maintain better control over what users can access while ensuring compliance with organizational policies.

Finally, this update supports a more flexible end‑user experience. Instead of deploying full desktops for lightweight workloads, IT teams can offer app‑only access for specific roles. This can help reduce licensing costs, simplify access models, and align Windows 365 deployments more closely with actual business needs.

Windows 365 Remote Desktop Shows Only a Black Screen? Here’s the Quick Fix

Sometimes when connecting to a Windows 365 Cloud PC using windows App, the session connects successfully—but all you see is a black screen. You may try refreshing, reconnecting, or waiting for several minutes, but the screen remains blank.

This is a known and occasionally encountered issue, and thankfully, the fix is simple.

What Doesn’t Work

• Refreshing the session
• Disconnecting and reconnecting
• Waiting for the screen to load

If none of these resolve the issue, the Cloud PC itself likely needs a restart.

✅ The Fix: Restart the Windows 365 Cloud PC

1. Open the Windows App (Windows 365 app).
2. Locate your available Windows 365 Cloud PC.
3. Click the three dots (⋮) next to the Cloud PC.
4. Select Restart.

The restart process may take a few minutes. Once completed, reconnect to the Cloud PC—you should now be able to log in normally without the black screen.

What If You Don’t See the Restart Option?

In some locked-down or restricted environments, the restart option may not be visible to end users. In this case:

• Contact your IT support team
• They can restart the Cloud PC from the Intune Admin Center → Windows 365 blade

After IT performs the restart, the Cloud PC should work fine.

Final Thoughts

A black screen on Windows 365 can be frustrating, but it’s usually not a serious issue. A simple Cloud PC restart resolves it in most cases. If you’re restricted from restarting it yourself, your IT team can handle it quickly through Intune.

Windows 365: Fixing Microsoft Teams performance issue

Fixing Microsoft Teams Performance Issues in Windows 365

Microsoft Teams is a critical collaboration tool for many organizations. However, ensuring optimal performance on Windows 365 Cloud PCs or Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments often requires specific configurations. This article provides a step-by-step guide to verify and enable Teams SlimCore Media Optimization for improved performance.

Step 1: Verify Teams Media Optimization Type

Before making any configuration changes, verify that your Teams client is using the new SlimCore Media Optimization architecture. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Microsoft Teams client.
2. Click on the ellipsis (...) on the top bar.
3. Navigate to Settings > About.
4. Check the optimization type listed under the Teams version:
   • AVD SlimCore Media Optimized: means it’s new optimization based on SlimCore.
   • AVD Media Optimized: means it’s  Legacy optimization based on WebRTC.

Step 2: Enable Teams Media Optimization

To enable media optimization for Teams in Windows 365 or AVD environments, configure a registry key on each session host if it’s not already present. This key will be present if it’s already optimised. If not, you need to configure.

Registry Configuration Steps:

1. Open Registry Editor as an administrator.
2. Navigate to the following path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Teams
   

3. If the Teams key doesn't exist, create it.
4. Add the following value:
• Name: IsWVDEnvironment
• Type: DWORD
• Value: 1

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/teams-on-avd#enable-media-optimization-for-teams

Alternatively, you can automate this process using a PowerShell script.

You can find the Powershell script in my GitHub Repository 

If Teams is not optimised, you can see a Not optimised banner at top of the Teams. You can click it and select optimise virtual desktop and restart and Teams should be automatically optimised for media audio and video quality inside windows 365.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/teams-on-avd#enable-media-optimization-for-teams

Windows 365 - Fix Microsoft Teams error code 2000

 

Recently I started to see Microsoft Teams showing Not Optimised banner at the top of the Teams. When clicked on it, it showed to optimize and restart. But when clicked on it, it started to show Error Code 2000. 

Checked in settings and it shows AVD slimcore media Not connected.

The error code 2000 means optimization is not enabled.

Tried to follow the steps outlined in my previous blog https://app2pack.blogspot.com/2025/02/MicrosoftTeams-Performances-Windows.html but it didn’t help. 

Followed the steps mentioned in the official MS article but it also didn’t work. Tried to force quit Teams manually and launch and still it was showing the same error and not optimized banner.

Finally Tried to restart the Windows 365 cloud pc from Windows App and this time after the restart and when clicked on Not optimized banner, it automatically optimized and prompted me to restart the Teams twice. After restarting Teams twice, the banner disappeared.