Beginning August 2018, Citrix Receiver has been replaced by Citrix Workspace app. While you can still download older versions of Citrix Receiver, new features and enhancements will be released for Citrix Workspace App.
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Citrix Receiver for Windows has evolved to meet the platform and user requirements of the latest XenApp and XenDesktop releases. This article explains some of the considerations before upgrading Citrix Receiver. For more details on upgrading, refer to the Citrix Product documentation.

Citrix Receiver for Windows 4.4 and later provides an easier way to upgrade to the latest version of Citrix Receiver. The following table gives more information on various upgrade paths.

Table 1: Upgrade Compatibility Matrix

	Upgrade Compatibility Matrix
	4.4 and later	4.3	4.2.100	4.2	4.1.x	3.4.x
Receiver 4.3.100	√	—	—	—	—	—
Receiver 4.2.100	√	√	—	—	—	—
Receiver 4.2	√	√	√	—	—	—
Receiver 4.1.x	√	√	√	√	—	—
EOL version
Online Plugin Web 12.3	√	—	—	—	—	—
Online Plugin 12.3	√	—	—	—	—	—
Consumer Version 3.4.x	√	√	√	√	—	—
Enterprise Version 3.x	√	M	M	M	—	—

Notes:

1. Group policy settings are retained as part of an upgrade.
2. M = In-place upgrade is not supported.

For instructions on upgrading Citrix Receiver for Windows from 3.x to 4.x, refer to the Cookbook blog .

Upgrade from Receiver 3.x Enterprise to Receiver 4.4 or later

The Receiver Cleanup Utility is run by default as part of Graphical User Interface installation.

To run the Receiver Cleanup Utility when installing Citrix Receiver using a command line installation, run the following switch:

CitrixReceiver.exe /RCU /Silent

Note: When you upgrade Citrix Receiver for Windows from 13.x (non-Enterprise) or 4.2 to Version 4.2 or later, the /rcu switch is unnecessary and ignored.

Upgrade from Receiver 3.x Enterprise to Receiver 4.3 or earlier

Use Windows group policy to remove the older version and retain app shortcuts and other types of customization. For instruction on upgrade, refer to the Upgrade Guide.

Upgrading to the Receiver 4.x series

Upgrade from Receiver 4.1 and later to the latest Receiver 4.x and above

Note: Group policy settings are retained during this upgrade.

The following settings are retained as part of upgrade when upgrading the Citrix Receiver for Windows Version 4.x to the latest version of Citrix Receiver.

• App shortcut management
• Fast-connect
• Session pre-launch
• Device access behavior
• Workspace control
• File-type association
• Security settings (https access)
• StoreFront 3.0 theme settings
• Auto update settings

Plug-in support

Upgrading to Citrix Receiver 4.3 or later retains supported plug-ins that are installed on the client machine.

The following plug-ins are tested for post-upgrade functionality:

• Citrix Real Time Media Engine (RTME)
• Microsoft VDI plug-in for Skype for Business (formerly, Lync)
• Citrix NetScaler Gateway (AGEE)

The following plug-ins are not tested for post-upgrade functionality by Citrix. However, there have not been any reports of breakage:

• VDMX
• Tricerat
• Thin print

Installation in user profile and upgrade

Receiver can be installed at user (each user install in their own user profile) or system level.

Whether Receiver was installed at user-level (installed by users in their own profiles), it is not supported to run a system-wide upgrade as administrator: every single user will have to upgrade Receiver by themselves.

If Receiver was installed system-wide, users will not be able to upgrade that installation.

Downgrading Citrix Receiver

Downgrading Citrix Receiver is not supported.

If attempted at your own risk, ensure that the existing Version of Citrix Receiver is completely uninstalled before installing the older version.

You can use the Receiver Cleanup Utility for a clean uninstall.

Unsupported upgrade to Receiver 4.x

For Citrix Receiver versions that have reached end-of-life (EOL), are SUPPORTED for in-place upgrades, or that are not shown in Table 1, the recommended upgrade procedure is as below:

1. Record the existing customization to manually reconfigure it after the upgrade.

2. Run the Receiver Cleanup Utility (see Knowledge Center article CTX137494 ) to remove the older version of Citrix Receiver completely.

3. Install the latest Citrix Receiver for Windows available at https://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver.html.

4. Reconfigure the necessary customization recorded in Step 1 above.

Note: You may need to use "Receiver Clean-Up Utility" as needed especially when problem occur during Receiver uninstall or when unexpected issues occur after install, regardless of the Receiver version you use.

This article describes the various versions of Receivers for Windows, lists the reasons for upgrading, and recommends best practices for upgrading to the latest version of Receiver based on specific circumstances.