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"Set it and forget it" is no longer an option for the software that runs your business. For Windows 10, the support clock runs out sooner than you might expect. Once you accept screen shots being captured, please close all windows or documents that may contain personal information. Thanks to a change Microsoft made in 2021, however, you can safely put the whiteboard away.
Thus, the original release of Windows 11 Home and Pro, version 21H2, will stop receiving updates on Oct. 10, 2023; the end date for version 22H2 is Oct. 8, 2024. Once those dates arrive, customers need to install a newer feature update to remain in support. The support life cycle for each new version of Windows or Office is 10 years, with mainstream support for five years and extended support for another five years. Subscription versions of Microsoft 365, which receive updates and upgrades monthly, play by a different set of rules.
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This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. The Office app is becoming the new Microsoft 365 app, your home to find, create, and share your content and ideas.
The app connects your computer with the Microsoft support agent’s computer using a remote connection. If you do not choose to accept screen shots being captured, please select the ‘I do not accept’ option and request other quality support options such as phone or chat support. To find the official end-of-support date for any Microsoft product, use theMicrosoft Product Lifecycle Search page. When you find the entry for a specific product, you can see the general availability date, the retirement dates for mainstream and extended support, and retirement dates. The 10-year upgrade cycle for Windows 10 matters most to customers running Long Term Servicing editions in enterprise deployments.
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Feature updates are now released annually, just like with Windows 11, in the second half of the calendar year. Support for Office 2010 ended in October 2020, while Office 2013 support ends in just a few months, on April 11, 2023. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards.
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And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. If you're having trouble connecting with the Quick Assist web app, please note your browser version and compare to the table below. Of course, it's worth noting that the end-of-support date is not a death sentence.
Those dates are calculated under the Modern Policy, which requires that the device in question be running a supported feature update. For Windows 10, feature updates were originally released every six months, with a support life cycle that lasted 18 months for each. That resulted in a chaotic support calendar, and customers practically needed a whiteboard to figure out support deadlines. Because Windows 11 follows the Modern Policy, it is currently listed asIn Support, with no defined end date. Each annual feature update, which is released at the end of the calendar year, has its own support life cycle. For Home and Pro editions, the end date for support is two years after a feature update is released.
With Windows Quick Assist app, you can receive or provide PC assistance over a remote connection. Remember only to share Quick Assist with trusted people since they can access your PC. The calculations start with the general availability date for each product.
The official date of retirement for support is the second Tuesday in the first month of the quarter following that anniversary . That grace period typically means a few weeks or months of extra support tacked on at the end of the five- and 10-year support cycles for each product. Here's the rundown on commitments for currently supported client versions of Windows and Office, starting with the newest member of the family.
Support for the original release of Windows 8 ended "two years after the General Availability of the Windows 8.1 update," or Oct. 18, 2015. Microsoft's officialWindows 8.1 Support Lifecycle Policytreats Windows 8.1 as if it were a service pack for Windows 8. (The Windows 8.1 upgrade was delivered for free available through the Windows Store on PCs running Windows 8.) That means the life cycle calculations started when Windows 8 shipped, in 2012. The assurance of support is especially important for business customers, who tend to be conservative in their approach to upgrades. ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites.
Microsoft continues to sell traditional versions of Office with a perpetual license. These products receive regular security and reliability updates but don't qualify for feature upgrades. They also require activation and can only be installed on a single PC. Microsoft has a well-establishedsupport life cyclefor its software products. It's basically an agreement that the company makes with everyone who purchases a license to use its core products, Windows and Office, including the newer subscription-based versions sold under the Microsoft 365 brand. The Modern Lifecycle Policy, which applies to Windows 10, Windows 11, and Office 2021, no longer follows that calendar.
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For 2015 and 2016, these were called Long Term Servicing Branch ; beginning in 2019, the name changed to Long Term Servicing Channel . The 2015 and 2016 LTSB releases end support on Oct. 14, 2025, and Oct. 13, 2026, respectively. Confusingly, Microsoft does not offer extended support for Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021, which ends support on Jan. 12, 2027. It's possible that Microsoft will follow the Windows 10 timetable and ship a successor to Windows 11 in 2026, around the time that Windows 11 reaches the traditional five-year mainstream support milestone. If it does happen, it's reasonable to expect Microsoft to declare an end date to Windows 11 support, with that deadline probably arriving in January 2032.
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Office desktop apps that are installed as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription always receive the most current version, which can be installed on up to 10 PCs or Macs, depending on the edition. In the run-up to the release of Windows 10, many wondered whether Microsoft would take the opportunity to change its established 10-year support life cycle. The answer,as announced with the release of the new operating system in July 2015, is no. The Windows 10 support life cycle follows the full 10-year support calendar, with the operating system scheduled for "retirement" on Oct. 14, 2025.
As of Jan. 10, 2023, Microsoft will stop issuing security updates for Windows 8.1. By selecting the ‘I accept’ option of Remote Assistance support from Microsoft, you agree that during this session, the support professional may capture screen shots for quality and/or training purposes. Generally, "supported" means you have access to at least one type of assisted support option and no-charge security updates through channels like Windows Update and the Download Center. The only difference will be an eerie quiet on the second Tuesday of each month. When the product reaches its retirement date, so do those Patch Tuesday security updates. For those using Windows 8.1 or supported Windows Server or macOS versions, the Quick Assist web app will get you help with your computer directly from Microsoft support agents.
