UC Headsets vs MS Headsets

What are the differences between UC Headsets and MS Headsets?

When it comes to the business headsets, big brands such as Poly (Plantronics), Jabra, EPOS, Sennheiser and Yealink all offer UC and a Microsoft (MS) Certified Models for their USB headsets. This often leads to confusion with buyers who are left unsure of which version is best for them.

Functionally, MS (Microsoft) and UC (Unified Communications) headsets are almost identical. They can both be used to make calls over the internet using softphones, but there are a few slight differences that define each version.

What are UC Headsets?

UC stands for “Unified Communications” this means the headset is optimised for use with a variety softphone applications.

UC headsets are fully compatible with pretty much any softphone (including Microsoft applications) and deliver added functionality such as remote call control. UC headsets also offer greater flexibility, so users can change between applications easily and connect to multiple devices. A UC Headset will work just as well with business applications like Skype, Zoom and Cisco as it will with Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp Video.

For these reasons, UC headsets are recommended for people who regularly use a variety of softphone applications calls during their week. Ultimately, We would only really recommend an "MS" headset to somebody that was exclusively using it for Microsoft Teams.

The Difference Between MS Headsets and UC Headsets

MS headsets are headsets specifically optimised for use with Microsoft applications. This includes Microsoft Teams and its predecessors which are now obsolete such as (Skype for Business and Microsoft Lync).

Microsoft Teams Optimised devices will be automatically configured as set to be your default audio device for Microsoft applications when plugged in. This allows users to get up and running in seconds and delivers a convenient plug-and-play experience. For IT Teams, setting the correct device defaulting is a small but significant benefit that reduces the amount of support work required for headset users and is especially useful for large scale distribution within businesses.

Many MS devices will also offer additional functionality in the form of dedicated call control buttons. Call control buttons on MS devices can be used to bring Microsoft Teams to the forefront of the PC screen, quickly answer calls, join meetings and more. These small additions improve user experience and make MS Headsets much more desirable for day-to-day Teams users.

How to Tell UC and MS Headsets Apart

UC and MS Headsets will all have slight variations in their name and manufacturer part number depending on the type. For example, Jabra use the following method of naming their products:

• Microsoft Version: Jabra Evolve2 65 – USB-A MS Teams Mono – Black | 26599-899-999
• Unified Communications (UC) Version: Jabra Evolve2 65 – USB-A UC Mono – Black | 26599-889-999

Here there is a clear difference in the name of the product with “UC” vs “MS Teams”. There is also a subtle difference in the product part number with UC Headsets VS MS Headsets but in terms of how the headsets actually look and function, there are mostly always the same apart from the fact that some of the newer headsets have started to integrate a dedicated Microsoft Teams button onto the device.

Similar to Jabra Headsets, Plantronics (Poly) Microsoft Certified headsets are usually displayed with a “-M” after the product name. UC headsets are displayed with “-UC”. If the product you’re viewing doesn’t specify which version the headset is, then it will be a UC model.