This blog post has been updated as of January 14, 2020, and will continue to be updated when changes to Windows 10 release and EOL dates, and other major revisions.
Over the last 12+ months, Microsoft has changed the EOL dates of its Windows 10 versions — some of them multiple times, leading to confusion as to when specific versions are actually going to finish their support cycle. A lot of the confusion is due to the following facts:
- EOL date for one version got re-purposed to another, e.g., Version 1709 originally had an EOL of Oct. 8th, 2019 (now 1703's EOL) which has now moved to April 14, 2020.
- The EOL date for a later released version of Windows 10 (1903) is earlier than its predecessor's (1809) EOL date.
- Official Microsoft blog posts about the extension(s) of the different releases have been removed from the Microsoft site, with no redirect to a new post explaining why the post was removed or listing the new EOL dates. The URLs for deleted posts usually redirect to the main blog listing page, making it hard to keep track.
- Version 1909, instead of being packed with new features like the previous releases, was more of a service pack that Microsoft used to release for previous versions of Windows.
To clear up the confusion, this post will serve as a quick reference for Windows 10 versions, their release and End-of-Life (EOL) dates, and Microsoft's schedule for future releases. We will keep this information as current as possible and update it as dates change and new releases come out.
For a more detailed account of Windows 10 versions, please see our Windows 10 Servicing Timeline post.
Since Windows 10 was released in July 2015, Microsoft has released a total of eight (8) Feature Updates (new Windows-as-a-Service versions), three (3) of which have gone EOL so far, four (4) including the original release.
| Windows 10 Version | Release Date | Enterprise & Education EOL Date |
| 1507 - Initial Release | July 29, 2015 | May 9, 2017 |
| 1511 - November Release | November 10, 2015 | April 10, 2018 |
| 1607 - Anniversary Update | August 2, 2016 | April 9, 2019 |
| 1703 - Creators Update | April 5, 2017 | October 8, 2019 |
| 1709 - Fall Creators Update | October 17, 2017 | April 14, 2020 |
| 1803 - April 2018 Update | April 30, 2018 | November 10, 2020 |
| 1809 - October 2018 Update | November 13, 2018 | May 11, 2021 |
| 1903 - May 2019 Update | May 21, 2019 | December 8, 2020 (Support ends before 1809) |
| 1909 - November 2019 Update | November 12, 2019 | May 10, 2022 |
| 20H1/2003 - "Vibranium" | Spring 2020 | Fall 2021 |
| 20H2 - Manganese | Fall 2020 | Spring 2023 |
Starting with the 2019 releases of Windows 10 versions, the following support schedule will be used for enterprises according to Microsoft:
- There will be 2 (two) releases per year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall
- The Spring release will be serviced for 18 months for enterprise customers
- The Fall release will be serviced for 30 months for enterprise customers
Here are a few things to remember about Microsoft's release schedule:
- Currently, all end-of-life dates fall on Patch Tuesday, which always falls on the second Tuesday of every month. Traditionally, this is the day Microsoft releases security patches.
- Microsoft aims to publish new updates on Patch Tuesday as well. However, the targeted date may sometimes be missed due to bugs or if the release is not ready yet.
- Release and EOL dates are from Microsoft's lifecycle fact sheet, which is updated with the final release (re-release) date of Windows 10 versions.
- Version 1909 had minimal feature updates, reminiscent of a service pack update. It is not clear if yet if this was a one-off or will become routine.
Also worth noting is that Windows 7 is now in paid extended support, regular extended support went EOL on January 14, 2020. To continue to receive security & critical updates (based on Microsoft's discretion) on Windows 7, you will have to pay Microsoft yearly per device as an add-on service.
