Important Updates for 3CX Partners – September 2025

1. Version 18 End-of-Life Approaching
License Activation Ends September 2025
3CX Version 18 is officially reaching its end-of-life in September 2025.

• A special update (Update 9B) was released earlier this year to extend license activation capability until September 2025, allowing users to maintain functionality if immediate migration to Version 20 was not feasible. However, after this deadline, license reactivation and new activations for V18 will no longer be possible.
• PUSH notifications for Android and iOS devices (critical for mobile call alerts) already ended on August 31, 2025.
• Technical support for Version 18 has ceased; users running V18 after the cutoff will be without vendor support.

What Our Partners Should Advise Customers:

• Urge any customers still using V18 to upgrade to Version 20 as soon as possible.
• Without the upgrade, they risk phone system outages, missed calls due to disabled mobile notifications, and unsupported systems—posing a major business continuity risk.

2. 3CX Version 20 Update 7
Key Features and Fixes
Version 20 Update 7 (released August 2025) delivers several valuable enhancements that partners should highlight to current and prospective customers:

• Improved failover stability during Windows service restarts, ensuring better uptime.
• Fixes for edge cases in call handling (queues, pickups, call manager crashes).
• Enhanced templates for major SIP providers (Dstny FR, Drei SIP Connect).
• Added features such as retry policies for OpenAI transcription and a language selector for transcription services.

What Our Partners Should Emphasize:

• Highlight the improved security, reliability, and expanded AI-powered transcription capabilities in Version 20.
• Demonstrate how these updates improve efficiency and reduce downtime.

3. Google Transcription Service Discontinuation in V20 Updates 1–5
Effective September 24, 2025

• Google transcription services will stop working on 3CX Version 20 Updates 1 through 5.
• To continue using transcription, customers must upgrade to Version 20 Update 6 or later, which includes the new Gemini-2.0-flash-lite transcription engine.

What Our Partners Should Communicate:

• Ensure customers know they must update to the latest Version 20 release to avoid transcription failures.
• Stress that transcription is critical for industries relying on call documentation, making this upgrade essential to prevent service disruption.

4. 3CX Android App Version 5.3
New Features for End Users
The new Android app, Version 5.3, includes:

• Voicemail transcription snippets in the call list for quick previews (no need to listen to the entire voicemail).
• One-click call blocking from call or chat history to reduce spam.
• Country code restrictions for improved call control.
• Performance and stability enhancements.

Tips for Our Partners:

• Encourage customers to update their mobile apps to leverage these productivity and security features.
• End users will benefit from faster call handling and reduced spam.

5. Security Enhancements and Vulnerability Management
3CX continues to strengthen security with the following improvements:

• Removal of weak CBC ciphers in HTTPS, SIP TLS, WebRTC, and Tunnel configurations.
• Alerts for extensions using weak SIP passwords, visible directly in the admin console.
• Added security layer (PKCE) for OAuth CRM integrations.
• Faster updates for global blacklists and blocked user agent lists.

Reseller Advice:

• Recommend that customers enable automatic updates and review password policies to mitigate potential risks.
• Emphasize that security remains a top priority, especially for business communications.

6. Licensing and Pricing Updates for Small Business Customers
Effective February 2025
Important changes include:

• Pricing for 4SC PRO and Enterprise licenses has increased.
• 4SC licenses now receive reduced 3CX support levels (only Level 1 and 2).
• Legacy FREE 4SC editions will be limited to 2 simultaneous calls from 2026 onward.

What Our Partners Should Explain:

• Prepare customers for these pricing changes and support adjustments.
• Help them evaluate whether upgrading to supported licenses is warranted to avoid limitations on call concurrency and support availability.