Since January 2019, Cisco Webex Boards have been running RoomOS. This article will therefore be no longer in use. For more information on RoomOS, check Known and Resolved Issues in RoomOS and What’s New in RoomOS.

Cisco Webex Board is an all-in-one digital whiteboard, presentation screen, and video conferencing device. It is created as a physical extension to the Cisco Webex Teams App, running on the Cisco Webex service.

We Are Gradually Moving Cisco Webex Boards Over to RoomOS

Cisco Webex Boards can now run RoomOS instead of BoardOS. The capabilities and experience are practically identical between the two. The transition is an automatic process managed by Cisco.

With the shared software with the rest of the Cisco Webex room devices, the Webex Boards will have access to many of the same capabilities as the other room devices going forward. With this change, we expect to be able to develop features faster and with higher quality across all room devices.

There are some differences to the previous software:

• You can launch Advanced Settings from Control Hub to configure your board.

• 802.1x is available on wired Ethernet.

• You can get information on the use of the meeting room with people count.

• The following Wi-Fi authentication methods are not supported: EAP PAP, EAP MSCHAP, EAP TTLS PAP.

• Changes in the diagnostics panel:

  • The Media tab only shows information for the active speaker.

  • The Services tab provides more detailed information.

  • Show Touch and Microphone are currently not available.

• Indicator for extra participants in a meeting is currently not available.

• USB upgrade is not supported.

• Pinhole factory reset now takes you directly to factory reset after 10 seconds.

Zoom In and Out on Your Whiteboard and Annotations

Date: August 30, 2018

You can pinch the touchscreen to zoom in on your whiteboard or annotations to get a closer look at your drawings and notes. You can zoom in up to 3x. When you are zoomed in, you can hold two fingers down and swipe to move the image around.

New Toolbar for Whiteboarding and Mark Up

Date: July 19, 2018

The toolbar for whiteboarding and marking up presentations has been updated with more colors and a back button to delete the last step.

Join Scheduled Meetings with One Button to Push (OBTP)

Date: July 9, 2018

Join scheduled meetings from your Webex Board by simply selecting the big green button that shows up when it’s time to join. One button to push works with @meet, @webex, and third-party backed meetings. You can schedule the meetings from Microsoft Exchange, Office 365 (or a mix), and Google Calendar. Enable a calender integration for a place on Cisco Control Hub to start using it for scheduled meetings. To find out more about setting up OBTP, see Make it Easier for Video Devices to Join Meetings with OBTP.

When you join a meeting with OBTP, there are limitations to whiteboarding in some scenarios.

• Whiteboarding is not available if the meeting is an @webex or a third-party meeting.

• For @meet meetings, a Webex Teams app needs to be connected to the board for you to be able to whiteboard.

Set-Up an Automatic Connection to a Proxy Server

Date: July 9, 2018

You can now set up your Webex Board to automatically connect to a proxy server. Read more about proxy settings in the Connect your Cisco Webex Board to a Proxy Server article.

More Languages Available

Date: July 9, 2018

The user interface on your Webex Board is now available in more languages than before. You can easily change the language from the board's settings menu.

New supported languages:

• Czech

• Danish

• Dutch

• Finnish

• French (Canada)

• Italian

• Japanese

• Norwegian

• Polish

• Portuguese (Brazil)

• Spanish (Latin America)

• Swedish

• Turkish

Share and Annotate on 4K Presentations

Date: June 13, 2018

You can now share locally, and annotate on 4K presentations, on your Webex Board when sharing through HDMI (resolution 3840x2160p30). On most laptops you need to select 4K resolution from the display settings, as 4K is not the default resolution for the Webex Board. When you save a snapshot of your 4K share to Cisco Webex Teams, the image is saved with 1080p resolution.

For 4K to work seamlessly, a 4K capable HDMI cable is needed. If you are experiencing issues, try replacing the cable. We recommend using the Cisco 8 m HDMI 2.0 Certified Cable w/Repeater (CAB-PRES-2HDMI-GR=).

Connectivity, Sharing, and Working With Existing Spaces from the Cisco Webex Teams App

Date: June 7, 2018

You can now find connectivity and sharing options in the same menu on the Cisco Webex Teams. When you connect your app to your Webex Board, you can share your screen, open spaces, and use the app to control your board. Read more about connectivity, sharing, and working with existing spaces.

Cisco Spark Board Is Now Cisco Webex Board

Date: May 22, 2018

Cisco Spark Board has changed its name to Cisco Webex Board.

New Enhancements

Date: May 22, 2018

• Adding participants to an on-going call is now done from the People activity on the home screen.

• We have made visual updates to the Share screen.

Advanced Settings Menu on Cisco Spark Board

Date: April 25, 2018

You can now adjust screen brightness, adjust ultrasound volume for proximity detection, and enable and disable Best Overview from the advanced settings menu.

New Enhancements

Date: April 25, 2018

• You get the option to continue sharing through HDMI after you stop marking up a presentation screen.

• Auto-complete is available in search fields.

• You can see a notification on the board when someone is waiting in lobby for Webex backed meetings.

Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) on Cisco Spark Board

Date: February 14, 2018

The CDP service on Cisco Spark Board now allows your device to find the voice VLAN advertised by the switch. If it is present, your device then communicates with the voice VLAN rather than the default VLAN.

The CDP service only works if your device is using a wired Ethernet network connection.

Packet Pacing on Cisco Spark Board

Date: December 15, 2017

When Cisco Spark Board devices are communicating, some of them might be on slower networks than others. This can increase the likelihood of packet loss, which can affect the user experience by reducing video and audio quality. Packet Pacing on Cisco Spark Board helps reduce the amount of packet loss in this type of situation. When a receiving device is on a slower network than a sending device, this enhancement allows the board to pace the packets more evenly. This avoids spikes and means the packets are received in an even stream.

New Enhancements

Date: December 6, 2017

• When you are drawing on an HDMI screen share and you are not in a call, when you have finished, the original screen share now resumes without the additional mark up.

• When sharing your screen over an HDMI connection, an audio icon is displayed on the screen of the device you are sharing, which you can use to change the volume.

• Networking Diagnostics have been added to the Serviceability window for Proxy and Wi-Fi.

• The Wi-Fi MAC address is now shown on the Network connection screen.

• The SSIDs of the wireless networks listed on the Network connection screen when using Wi-Fi, now display with 4 bars and SSIDs with a low signal are not shown.

• You can now use digest authentication when using a Proxy server.

• On the Network connection screen, the Secondary DNS is not shown until it has been set.

• In Cisco Webex meetings, the message which displays while you are waiting for others to join now displays when you have joined as the host and are the only participant.

Mark Up on Presentations on Cisco Spark Board

Date: November 7, 2017

You can draw and make notes on presentations you are sharing in the same way as you can work on digital whiteboards. Drawing is available whether you are presenting locally, in an ad hoc call, or a Cisco Spark meeting. When you draw and make notes in a call or a Cisco Spark space meeting, people on the far end can see your mark up and participate from their end on a Cisco Spark Board or a Cisco Spark app.

Cisco Spark Board Best Overview

Date: November 2, 2017

During calls on your Cisco Spark Board, the image displayed to participants joining on other devices will be cropped to show only those who are in your meeting room. If someone leaves or enters the room, the camera will automatically zoom out or crop the image to focus only on those who are in the room.

Connect Your Cisco Spark Board to a Proxy Server

Date: October 23, 2017

You can now connect your Cisco Spark Board to a proxy server. A proxy server can help you to apply an additional measure of security or to apply company policies such as a restriction on internet usage.

Use a Wireless Network on Cisco Spark Board

Date: October 23, 2017

On your Cisco Spark Board, you can choose to use either a wired or wireless network connection after you have set up the device. To use a wireless connection, you must first disconnect the Ethernet cable.

Cisco Spark Board Activity Layout Improvements

Date: October 23 2017

We have made some improvements to ensure smoother video transitions and more predictable layouts to improve your experience while using Cisco Spark Board.

Change Language on Your Spark Board

Date: July 12, 2017

The user interface on your Spark Board is now available in several languages. You can easily change the language from the board's settings menu.

Supported languages:

• English (US)

• French (France)

• Spanish (Spain)

• German

Change IP Address from the Spark Board

Date: July 6, 2017

If your network settings require it, you can change the Spark Board's IP address from the board's settings menu.

Share Audio Through HDMI Cable

Date: July 4, 2017

The Cisco Spark Board plays audio from the content you share locally or in a call through an HDMI cable, whether it is videos, audio recordings, or music.

Saving Local Whiteboards to Cisco Spark

You can save locally created whiteboards by moving them to an existing or new space.

Calling Regular Phones (PSTN)

If your organization has a PSTN subscription, you can ask your Cisco Spark service administrator to enable PSTN calls for your Cisco Spark Board. If you manage your own service, you can enable PSTN in the Device settings in the Cloud Collaboration Management portal.

Clearing Cisco Spark Board

You can clear the Cisco Spark Board when you press and hold the home button for 3 seconds. This deletes local whiteboards and resets audio volume to default setting.

Improved Sleep and Wake-Up Logic

We have optimized timings and flows for screen saver, sleep, and wakeup. We have optimized timings and flows for screen saver, sleep, and wakeup.

Profile Picture for Active Speakers When They Are Not Sending Video

When an active speaker isn't sending video, the speaker's profile picture is displayed in the center of a large pane.

Name Tags for Participants

Name tags are displayed for about 5 seconds, typically when a participant joins a call, or when a participant starts talking.

A participant’s name tag isn't displayed if it has recently been displayed. Tags that overlap with each other aren't displayed at the same time.

Pairing Manually to a Cisco Spark Board

If proximity pairing isn't working, you can manually search and choose the Cisco Spark Board from the Cisco Spark app.

When you pair manually, you can use the Cisco Spark Board for calls, and you can share your screen. Other features are only available when you use the Proximity feature.