M365 Roundup, January 2023: IPv6 Reaches Azure AD and the GDAP Clock Resets
TL;DR
- Azure AD begins supporting IPv6 in a phased rollout from March 31, 2023, and named locations and location-based Conditional Access policies need auditing before then to avoid blocked users and false risk detections.
- Microsoft is shifting the GDAP milestone dates, with a new schedule promised by February 15, 2023 and at least 60 days notice before each milestone.
- Cross-tenant synchronization, in preview from mid-January 2023, automates creating user accounts across tenants for multi-tenant organizations.
- The Teams wiki is being retired, with export to OneNote notebooks available in standard channels from mid-February 2023.
- A new Test-Message cmdlet lets Exchange admins troubleshoot transport rules and unified DLP evaluation without opening a Microsoft support case.
January 2023's roundup is heavy on identity. Azure AD is getting IPv6 support, which sounds like plumbing until you remember how many Conditional Access policies key off named IP locations; there is real audit work to do before March 31, 2023. Microsoft also reset the GDAP migration timeline, promising a new schedule by February 15, 2023, and cross-tenant synchronization entered preview. Add a retired Teams wiki, a new Exchange troubleshooting cmdlet, and a stack of Teams and Outlook features, and it was a busy month. Grouped by product, with dates.
Azure AD: IPv6 support means Conditional Access homework
IPv6 is coming, audit your named locations first
Microsoft is bringing IPv6 support to Azure Active Directory, letting customers reach Azure AD services over both IPv4 and IPv6 network protocols (dual stack).
Customers who use named locations to identify specific network boundaries need to:
- Conduct an audit of existing named locations to anticipate potential impact.
- Work with your network partner to identify egress IPv6 addresses in use in your environment.
- Review and update existing named locations to include the identified IPv6 ranges.
Customers who use Conditional Access location-based policies to restrict and secure access to their apps from specific networks need to:
- Conduct an audit of existing Conditional Access policies to identify use of named locations as a condition and anticipate potential impact.
- Review and update existing Conditional Access location-based policies to ensure they continue to meet your organization's security requirements.
Skipping these steps risks two failure modes:
- Users on IPv6 addresses may be blocked, depending on your organization's Conditional Access policies and Identity Protection configurations.
- False positive detections can occur when internal networks and VPNs are not checked as trusted locations, resulting in users being marked as risky.
Timing: phased approach beginning March 31, 2023, expected to complete by early July 2023.
Cross-tenant synchronization enters preview
Cross-tenant synchronization automates creating user accounts across tenants in your organization. Synchronized users keep authenticating the way they do on their primary tenant, and each application can apply Conditional Access policies as appropriate. The result: users across the organization can access applications regardless of which tenant hosts them, including Microsoft applications like Teams and SharePoint as well as non-Microsoft applications like ServiceNow, Adobe, and hundreds more SaaS apps.
Microsoft Docs: What is cross-tenant synchronization in Azure Active Directory? (preview) | Microsoft Learn (opens in new tab)
Timing: mid-January 2023, expected to complete by early February 2023.
The new Entra admin center is live
The new Entra admin center is available at https://entra.microsoft.com/ (opens in new tab). It will eventually replace the existing Azure Active Directory admin center, though no timelines are posted as of January 2023.
Partner Center: the GDAP timeline shifts again
Microsoft is making shifts in the GDAP timeline, with an update on the new schedule promised by February 15, 2023 and at least a 60-day notice period before each milestone date.
The milestones that are moving:
- Stop new DAPs: DAP is currently granted when a new customer tenant is created. Microsoft will no longer grant DAP for new customer creation.
- Transition inactive DAPs: Microsoft will start transitioning DAP relationships unused for 90 or more days to GDAP with limited Azure AD roles. Use the DAP monitoring report to review which relationships are inactive.
- Transition active DAPs: Microsoft will begin transitioning active DAP relationships to GDAP with limited Azure AD roles.
The bulk migration tool gains a new feature for removing DAP relationships in bulk starting February 15, 2023.
Partner Center announcement: January 2023 announcements | Microsoft Learn (opens in new tab)
Teams: the wiki retires and six features land
Wiki retirement and OneNote as the future of channel notes
With this release, users can export their wiki content to OneNote notebooks in Teams standard channels. After exporting, the Notes tab is where collaboration continues, using OneNote in channels.
Timing: mid-February 2023.
App flyout enhancements
App flyouts are contextual menus throughout the Teams experience that let users launch installed apps and discover and install new apps within their current context. Opening the Message Extension (ME) app flyout from a group chat, for example, shows all ME-enabled installed apps usable within that group chat. Engaging with apps through the flyout keeps users in their flow of work and reduces confusion about what an app can do in that context.
Timing: mid-February 2023, expected complete by late February 2023.
Video filters in meetings
Video Filters let meeting participants augment their video stream with visual effects such as frames and styles. The filters are built on the Teams Platform infrastructure and provided by Microsoft first- and third-party partners as apps, displayed as a collection of filters.
Timing: early February 2023, completing rollout in late April 2023.
Federated group calling
Users can easily start a group Teams call with federated colleagues outside the organization, including video and screen sharing, entirely over an internet connection with no PSTN usage charges.
Timing: early January 2023, expected complete by mid-January 2023.
Actionable missed-call notifications
Users get the option to call back on a missed call directly from the activity feed, completing the underlying task faster and improving triage of activities.
Timing: early February 2023, expected complete by mid-February 2023.
Raised hands lower themselves after speaking
Users who raise their hand in a meeting and then speak see a notification that their hand will be lowered automatically soon, with the option to keep it raised. No action means the hand lowers on its own, which should smooth facilitation for organizers and presenters.
Timing: mid-March 2023, completing rollout by late March 2023.
Outlook and Exchange: recap, inline search, and a support-case killer
Meeting Recap in Outlook on the web
Meeting Recap lets meeting participants quickly access meeting content, such as the recording, directly from the calendar event. After a meeting ends, opening it on the calendar surfaces links to the meeting artifacts. The feature currently supports meetings scheduled through Microsoft Teams, with these limitations:
- Recordings started through auto-record in Teams will not appear in the recap
- Teams channel meetings
- Meetings scheduled on group calendars
- Ad-hoc meetings
Timing: late January 2023, completing rollout by late February 2023.
ContextIQ brings inline search to message composing
Typing the @ key while composing opens a menu for searching, filtering, and inserting entities from across the user's Microsoft 365 account. Outlook can also proactively suggest relevant content to insert based on the context of the current message.
Timing: now through early February 2023.
Test-Message: troubleshoot transport rules without calling Microsoft
A new cmdlet called Test-Message lets tenant admins independently investigate issues with the processing of Exchange Transport Rules (ETRs) and Unified DLP rules, without engaging Microsoft support.
Microsoft Docs: Test-Message (ExchangePowerShell) | Microsoft Learn (opens in new tab)
Timing: late January 2023, expected complete by mid-February 2023.
Viva: praise highlights surface on profile cards
Requires a Viva Insights subscription.
Praise in Microsoft Teams recognizes the effort behind the collaborative work Teams users do. Users send praise through the messaging extension pinned to the Teams messaging bar or through the Viva Insights app in Teams, and admins can enable or disable Praise from the Teams admin center.
With updates coming soon, praises received will be highlighted on a user's profile card in Teams and Outlook. Users have settings available to keep praise highlights off their profile card.
Timing: early February 2023, completing rollout by late February 2023.
SharePoint: request files from anyone, securely
With the File Request feature in a SharePoint document library, users get an easy and secure way to request and obtain files from anyone. The user picks a folder where others can upload files via a shared link. People you request files from can only upload; they cannot see the folder's contents, edit, delete, or download files, or see who else has uploaded.
If the administrator has enabled file requests (and Anyone links) at the tenant level, the feature is available to users within the tenant. Admins can use SharePoint Online Management Shell to enable or disable Request Files for SharePoint sites.
Microsoft Docs: Create a file request | Microsoft Support (opens in new tab)
Timing: early February 2023, completing rollout by late February 2023.
OneDrive: Files On-Demand settings get simpler on Windows
The OneDrive sync app's advanced settings for Files On-Demand on Windows are changing. Previously, a toggle let users opt out of Files On-Demand entirely. After this change, users with Files On-Demand enabled no longer see the toggle; instead they get two buttons: Download files as you open them, and Download all files now.
Timing: early February 2023, completing rollout by late February 2023.
Intune: a new crash course for getting up to speed
For anyone looking to come up to speed on Microsoft Intune, there is a new Udemy crash course (opens in new tab) built around the latest 2023 updates, covering how to manage and secure devices, apps, and data, with a full section on Apple device management and demos of the end-user experience throughout.
Frequently asked questions
What breaks if you ignore the Azure AD IPv6 change?
Users coming from IPv6 addresses may be blocked by Conditional Access policies that rely on named locations, and internal networks or VPNs not marked as trusted locations can trigger false positive risk detections that mark users as risky. Audit named locations and location-based policies before the phased rollout begins March 31, 2023.
Where do you manage Entra settings now?
The new Entra admin center is live at entra.microsoft.com and will eventually replace the Azure Active Directory admin center, though Microsoft has posted no timeline for that retirement as of January 2023.
January's policy changes, verified before they bite
IPv6 in Conditional Access is exactly the kind of change that fails quietly months later. CloudCapsule rechecks 250+ controls per tenant in about 60 seconds, so updates like these never become drift.
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Written by
Nick Ross
CEO · Microsoft MVP · Founder, T-Minus 365
Nick is not just a CEO, he's a respected thought leader and influencer in the MSP space. Tens of thousands of MSPs learn through his YouTube channel, T-Minus365. Nick has been honored as a three-time Microsoft MVP for his educational content; his expertise and influence are the backbone of our mission, ensuring that you are in the best hands when it comes to security.
Nick joined Pax8 in 2017, where he would ultimately oversee product management for PSA and Microsoft integrations. Following his tenure at Pax8, Nick has continued to demonstrate his leadership prowess as an executive at various MSPs, culminating in his most recent role at Sourcepass.
Nick holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Florida State University, as well as a Minor Degree in Entrepreneurship. In his free time, Nick is an avid hiker, reader, and fitness-junkie.
