[German]The End of Life (EOL) dates for Windows differs for clients and servers. A German blog reader pointed that out, and send me a raw EOL overview – pretty complex.
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In earlier day, things was pretty simple: Microsoft provides five years mainstream support after a Windows version has been released. Then another 5 years extended support provides updates. This has been documented within the Windows lifecycle fact sheet, and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC SKUs still use this EOL scheme.
Windows 10: 18 months support?
Microsoft wrote, Windows 10 build should receive updates for 18 months, afterward users has to upgrade to a newer build. But there are now many exceptions, as I outlined within my blog post Windows 10: End of Life for several builds in May 2018.
- Windows 10 Version 1507: This RTM version of Windows 10, released in summer 2015, has been out of support for a long time and will not get any more updates. Exceptions are the Windows 10 Enterprise V1507 LTSC installations which are supported until 2025.
- Windows 10 Version 1511: This version of Windows 10, released in November 2015, was discontinued on October 10, 2017. However, Enterprise and Education editions for version 1511 still received security updates 6 months after this date (March 2018 was over).
- Windows 10 Version 1607: This version of Windows 10 (Anniversary Update), released in summer 2016, is no longer supported on April 10, 2018. However, Enterprise and Education editions for version 1607 will still receive security updates 6 months after this date.
However, there is one more peculiarity. Systems with Clovertrail CPU will receive updates until 2023 (see Windows 10 V1607: Updates for Clover Trail systems until 2023). And LTSC versions are supported until 2026.
The complex rules around Windows 10 version 1607 has been documented in Microsoft's shown below:
Windows 10, version 1607, reached end of service on April 10, 2018. Devices that are running Windows 10 Home or Pro editions will no longer receive monthly security and quality updates that contain protection from the latest security threats. To continue receiving security and quality updates, Microsoft recommends that you update to the latest version of Windows 10.
IMPORTANT Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education editions will receive six months of additional servicing at no cost. Devices on the Long-Term Servicing Channels (LTSC) will continue to receive updates until October 2026 per the Lifecycle Policy page. Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607)-based devices that are running the Intel "Clovertrail" chipset will continue to receive updates until January 2023 per the Microsoft Community blog.
Windows 10 Version 1703, 1709 and 1803 are still supported. The Home and Pro versions will also receive updates there. An overview of support intervals can be found on this Microsoft page.
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Support for clients and servers ends differently
German blog reader Karl sent me an overview (thanks for that), which shows how chaotic the whole life cycle planning of Windows has become for administrators. He writes: Clients and servers will soon expire differently (without extended support). Here is an overview of the various data for support ends:
- Windows 10 Home 1607 EOL: 04/10/2018
- Windows 10 Pro 1607 EOL: 04/10/2018
- Windows 10 Enterprise 1607 EOL: 10/10/2018
- Windows 10 Education 1607 EOL: 10/10/2018
- Windows 10 LTSC 1607 EOL: January 2023!
Windows Server 2016 1607 with GUI (LTSC) EOL: 01/11/2022; with ext. support 01/11/2027 (differs from LTSC client) - Windows Server 2016 1607 without GUI / Core (SAC) EOL: 10/10/2018! > replaced by 1703 and 1803 (all 6 months, 18 months support after release).
Fear that could cause some head ache for some consultants and administrators. So they need to consult the Search product lifecycle, search for EOL and carefully read all side notes given from Microsoft, each time, they plan a new release cycle for clients or servers.
Similar articles:
Windows (10) Update Survey and an open letter to Microsoft
Windows Update quality issues: Microsoft's answer
Note that the 1803 release of ALL editions of Windows 10 have an EOL date of November 12, 2019, that includes the education & enterprise AND server editions. no 6 month extensions for education/enterprise editions are available with the 1803 release after November 2019 EOL date.