Windows 10 Lifecycle: End Of Life And Support Status

Last updated on May 29, 2023

Even though Windows 10 is not the latest operating system from Microsoft, it is still largely used because of its reliability and features. However, like all software, the Windows 10 operating system must also be retired at some point, known as its end of life. The end of life is the date when Microsoft will stop providing support and security updates for the operating system. This means that after the End of Life date, Microsoft will no longer address any vulnerabilities or issues with the software.

Like all Microsoft operating systems, Windows 10 also has different versions, each with a different End of Life. While the later versions are still supported, many Windows 10 versions have already reached the End of Life.

Support status guide

End of life (EOL) is the end of a product’s useful life. When a product reaches the end of its life cycle, the manufacturer no longer supports it. The following table explains the different phases of a product’s lifecycle. Testing status is when the product is initially released and EOL is when product support is no longer offered. The time between these two points is the support timeframe.

Testing

The software is not yet publicly available. It is in testing phase i.e., alpha, beta, release preview etc.

Active

The software is actively supported by the vendor.

Phasing Out

The software will soon reach its end of life. You need to look for upgrade or migration options. The software will automatically go into phasing out status 2 months before end of life.

End Of Life

The software is no longer supported by the vendor. You need to make sure your system and environment are safe.

Version

Released

Active Support

Extended Support

Windows 10 version 22H2 is currently the latest version and will be so for the remaining time. As announced by Microsoft, all Windows 10 operating systems will reach End of Life on 14th October 2025. It is likely that Windows 10 users will be forced to upgrade to the latest Windows version.

Previously, Microsoft released 2 versions each year for Windows 10, where one was released in the first half of the year, and the second in the second half. These were initially named after the year and the month they were released in. For example, Windows 10 version 1903 is named so because it was scheduled to be released in 2019 in the 3rd month (March). However, since the timeline wasn’t always perfect, the naming nomenclature later changed to using “H1” and “H2”, depicting the first and the second half of the year, respectively. This led to Windows versions being named as “21H2” and “22H2”.

Microsoft then changed the release schedule in 2021 and decided to release only one major Windows version every year. This eliminated the “H1” release every year and only the “H2” was released.

With many different Windows 10 versions available, each of them also has different editions. Windows 10 offers, the following editions: Home, Professional, Education, Enterprise, and IoT. Like its ancestors, the Education and Enterprise editions have longer servicing durations than the rest. However, all Windows 10 editions and versions will reach End of Life in 2025.

Normally, the Windows 10 versions released in the first half of the year usually received eighteen months of servicing, while the version released in the second half received 18 or 30 months (for Enterprise and Education editions) of servicing.

Understanding the concept of end of life for Microsoft Windows

While Microsoft follows modern lifecycle policy, which means that the devices on the latest Windows versions will be supported indefinitely, there are three main types of end of support/life dates:

End of mainstream support

This means Microsoft will not provide incident support, warranty claims, feature requests, or non-security related requests after the end of mainstream support.

  1. No more free incident support.
  2. No more warranty claims.
  3. No more design changes and feature requests.
  4. No more non-security hotfixes.

Usually, Microsoft provides 3 years of mainstream support after the product is discontinued.

End of extended support

The end of extended support means the following:

  1. No more security updates
  2. No more paid support
  3. No more updated content (Knowledgebase etc.)

End of Long Term Service Channel support (LTSC)

LTSC channel is designed so that the product is treated as a stand-alone product. LTSC products features and functionality do not change throughout their lifecycle.  These products only get security updates throughout their lifetime.

Microsoft supports LTSC releases for 10 years. However, in the case of Windows 10, the last LTSC release was Windows 10 21H2 LTSC, whose support will be ending in 2025 as well.