Microsoft continues to expand support for Windows 10 1803 and some earlier versions

The reason for this unusual decision is thought to be rooted in the COVID-19 pandemic, after Microsoft said it received a series of responses about the process of switching and upgrading the operating system. has been becoming more difficult for businesses due to the impact of the epidemic since the beginning of the year.

In fact, Microsoft announced it stopped supporting Windows 10 1803 since November of last year, but this decision applies only to the Home and Pro editions (aimed at more individual users). Enterprise and Education editions are supported for an additional year, meaning users of these two editions will continue to receive required updates until November 10 this year.

However, with the decision to extend the support lifecycle just made by Microsoft, Windows 10 1803 (Enterprise and Education) users will continue to receive periodic updates until May 11, 2021, which is the same Windows 10 Version 1809 end of support date.

Interestingly, the above decision makes Windows 10 1803 support even longer than the 1903 version, which was released a year later. Part of the reason is that from version 1809 and earlier, all Windows 10 feature updates are supported for 30 months on Enterprise and Education SKUs.

Starting with version 1903, however, Microsoft has decided that the first major updates of the year will be supported for only 18 months. So, in theory, version 1903 will end support on December 8, 2020, unless Microsoft decides to extend support for this version for some unusual reason.

In addition to version 1803, Microsoft will also continue to extend support to version 1709 (Enterprise and Education) through October 13, 2020. Version 1809 has a support date extension as well, but for Home users. and Pro, until November 10 here.

In the face of prolonged epidemics and difficulties faced by businesses, it is not excluded that Microsoft will continue to extend the support lifecycle for the old Windows 10 versions mentioned above.

Micah Soto

Update 29 August 2020