Updated: September 16, 2013 : As mentioned in the comments, the September 2013 update for Lync 2013 reverts the System Tray functionality back to the pre-July 2013 update. HOWEVER, as also mentioned...a bug causing issues with Outlook was found and the release has been pulled. They are working on fixing the update and will re-release it shortly.
UPDATED July 10, 2013 : Based on negative feedback from customers, the Lync Product Group is planning on reverting this change. No ETA / Target CU has been given.
As part of Cumulative Update 2 for the Lync 2013 client, the Lync Product Group has made a change that users will need to be aware of.
Since Live Communications Server (LCS) and the Communicator client, the Lync System Tray Icon has always changed colors to indicate your status as it's seen by others (e.g. Green means available, Red means busy, Yellow means away, etc).
Starting with the July 2013 Security Update for Lync 2013 and Cumulative Update 2 for the Lync 2013 Client (not yet released as of this post's writing on July 9, 2013)...the Lync 2013 System Tray icon has been changed to simply be the blue Lync 2013 logo:
It no longer will change colors to show your status. To see your status, you will need to hover your mouse over the icon:
This change was made to align Lync 2013 with the overall Office 2013 design standard for the System Tray icons. I wanted to make people aware of this change as it is something users will see after the July 2013 Security Update is deployed and is a major change in the way the Lync System Try icon works.
I agree, having it be a choice in the options menu would be fantastic. I have just deployed Lync in our environment and I've gotten half saying that they hate the design of the presence indicator in the system tray because it doesn't match up to the icon, and half that say that they don't mind it. I personally like the new icon myself, because if I want to see my status I just look at my list, but I know every environment is different so having a choice would be perfect.
Glad I came across this article before I tore into my PC to 'fix' Lync. Next time MS decides to make a boneheaded move like this, please, at the very least announce it. A systray pop-up saying "1 step forward, 2 steps back" would've done the trick.
Bad decision remove system tray color icon, and great decision go back!!
Laura project is not good solution: http://laura.codeplex.com/
One thing I've come to expect from MS (and many other software providers) - developers always think their "cool" upgrades are an improvement. In reality, they fail to understand the simple mantra in everyday life - if it isn't broken, don't fix it! (Or don't attempt a fix without beta testing by real-world users).
Thanks for posting. I was scratching my head to understand why this changed. I definitely look forward to it getting changed back!
Actually, the icon change they should had made was to change the Lync icon to a different color than the Outlook icon. I think that, in addition to the missing presence status indicator, is a good reason to change the icon. I have several times following this latest update clicked Lync in the system tray when I meant to click Outlook. Or change Outlook back to Orange.
Agreed - this was a bad choice of design over functionality. Thanks so much for confusing my users even further and I'm glad all the negativity has Microsoft reverting course on this. I agree with one of the other posters - I have no problem with you changing from the loop to the logo but have the logo change colors to indicate status. Otherwise, leave it alone - it worked great as it was.
Terrible decision. Microsoft must enjoy reducing the productivity of the end user.
Very illogical MSFT. Still no ETA on the undo?
MS please bring back the color changing system tray icon. Productivity is more important to the end user than "bringing in line" your products. Then again, when has MS ever sincerely put the end user's needs first....
The latest Office 2013 patch released this Tuesday, September 10 fixes this issue. However, this patch was pulled on this last Wednesday (September 14). So the fix will be released very shortly. This is yet another reason why the Lync client should be handled by the Lync team and not the Office team as the Lync team has a much better idea of what they are doing.
I liked the way it was.
It's been quite a while now, for a seemingly easy fix. Is there any update as to when we can expect the color scheme for Lync presence to return?
Never mind doh....support.microsoft.com/.../2825630
It never ceases to amaze me how MS can make so many bad decisions. Office 2013 is a huge step back from 2010 and what clown thought that the Lync system tray icon change was a good idea????