Microsoft Lifecycle Policy
guidelines for the availability of support throughout the life of a product.
Last updated 1-9-20
Modern Lifecycle Policy
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/policies/modern
The Modern Lifecycle Policy covers products and services that are serviced and supported continuously. Under this policy, the product or service remains in support if the following criteria are met:
- Customers must stay current as per the servicing and system requirements published for the product or service.
- Customers must be licensed to use the product or service.
- Microsoft must currently offer support for the product or service.
Change notification
Changes for these products and services may be more frequent and require customers to be alert for forthcoming modifications to their product or service.
For products and services governed by the Modern Lifecycle Policy, unless otherwise noted, Microsoft's policy is to provide a minimum 30 days' notification when customers are required to take action in order to avoid significant degradation to the normal use of the product or service.
Continuity and migration
For products governed by the Modern Lifecycle Policy, Microsoft will provide a minimum of 12 months' notification prior to ending support if no successor product or service is offered—excluding free services or preview releases.
For products under existing lifecycle policies (such as the Fixed Lifecycle Policy), Microsoft will continue to provide servicing and support for a fixed amount of time. Products that have already launched with existing lifecycle policies will continue to be supported according to the published end of support dates.
Windows 10 Pro (and Home) follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy.
Windows 10 Support Dates (mm/dd/yy)
Build Nos – as seen in “System Information” on Windows 10 Computers:
Win 10 Pro - ver 1607 (build 14393)
Win 10 Pro - ver 1703 (build 15062)
Win 10 Pro - ver 1709 (build 16299)
Win 10 Pro - ver 1803 (build 17134)
Win 10 Pro - ver 1809 (build 17763)
Win 10 Pro - ver 1903 (build 18362)
Win 10 Pro - ver 1909 (build 18363)
Win 10 Pro - ver 2004 (build 19041)
Fixed Lifecycle Policy
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/policies/fixed
The Fixed Lifecycle Policy applies to many commercial and some consumer products currently available through retail purchase or volume licensing and offers a minimum of:
- 10 years of support (a minimum of five years Mainstream Support followed by five years Extended Support) at the supported service pack level for business, developer, and desktop operating system products. To be eligible for support, customers may be required to deploy the latest update. See the Lifecycle product search for specific details. Some products may offer less than 10 years of support.
- Five years of Mainstream Support at the supported service pack level for consumer and multimedia products.
Microsoft is committed to providing products with improved security. Although we strive to remove vulnerabilities during development, software vulnerabilities remain a fact today and we must be prepared to respond when they are discovered. Microsoft advises customers to install the latest product releases, security updates, and service packs to remain as secure as possible. For the latest information on security updates, see the Security Update Guide. Older products may not meet today's more demanding security requirements. Microsoft may be unable to provide security updates for older products.
The Fixed Lifecycle Policy does not apply to all products. To see the specific support and servicing start and end dates by applicable product, go to the lifecycle product search.
Windows 7 follows the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.
Windows 7 Support Dates (mm/dd/yy)
