Microsoft has reminded users that Windows 10, version 1909 (also known as the November 2019 Update), will reach the end of service next month, in May 2021.
Redmond stops providing technical support, bug and security fixes for newly discovered issues and vulnerabilities for products that reach their end of support.
Customers who still use end of service software are advised to upgrade to the latest on-premise or cloud versions as soon as possible to keep their systems secure from attacks and bug-free.
"Your computer will still work, but it could become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses because you won’t receive new security updates or other quality updates," Microsoft explains.
"Microsoft offers complimentary support to ensure that your device has the latest updates installed and requires that your device be up to date before assisting with other technical support issues."
Windows 10 releases reaching end of support in May
The company says that this end of support deadline applies to all Windows 10 1903 editions in a support document published earlier this week.
These are all the Windows 10 versions and editions that will reach end of service next month, on May 11, 2021:
- Windows 10, version 1909: Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations and Pro Education; and Windows Server, version 1909, all editions.
- Windows 10, version 1809: all editions except LTSC editions
- Windows 10, version 1803 and Windows Server, version 1803: all editions
Education and Enterprise editions of Windows 10 1909 will reach their end of service next year, on May 11, 2022.
More info on end of service dates for supported versions of Windows 10 is available in the Windows 10 Servicing Frequently Asked Questions, the Windows Lifecycle FAQ, and via Microsoft's Lifecycle Policy search tool.
Redmond also provides a list of all products ending support or that will be retired in 2021.
Windows 10 2004 in broad deployment
Microsoft announced in February that Windows 10, version 2004 is now in broad deployment and available to everyone via Windows Update.
If you can't upgrade to Windows 10 2004 update via Window Update, you should check for known hardware blocks on the Windows 10 Health Dashboard.
At the moment, the only known blocks for Windows 10 2004 updates are for devices with Conexant ISST audio drivers according to current info displayed on the health dashboard.
If your computer is affected by this update block, you are advised not to attempt to manually update using the 'Update now' button or the Media Creation Tool until Microsoft and Synaptics resolved the issue.
Microsoft is now also allowing a limited set of customers (with devices running Windows 10 1903 and later) to upgrade to Windows 10 20H2, the latest released version.
The company says that it's "slowly throttling up availability over the coming weeks to ensure a reliable download experience."
Comments
fromFirefoxToVivaldi - 3 years ago
>At the moment, the only known blocks for Windows 10 2004 updates are for devices with Conexant ISST audio drivers according to current info displayed on the health dashboard.
Which (unless something changed since I last took a look at Asus R510) Microsoft automatically installs on affected Windows 10 Home laptops via Windows Update.
This is beyond ridiculous. Their annoying automatic driver deployment is the reason why some people can't update to the current Windows versions. Hopefully they will fix it by the time 1090 stops being supported. This drivers should just get uninstalled as they do not provide any important features anyway and the default Windows 10 driver is capable of handling audio superbly well.
Adantzman - 3 years ago
Agreed. I too am stuck on 1909 due to the Conexant drivers issue.
Microsoft is doing a poor job of communicating what will happen (are they working on a fix?) or what to do for those in this situation.
noelprg4 - 3 years ago
(are they working on a fix?)
not unless Synaptics (who acquired Conexant Systems Inc. in late 2017) produces new audio drivers and gives them to Microsoft to post either thru Windows Update or on the MS Update Catalog site. Synaptics is a smaller company & is on a tight budget (unlike Realtek which is a BIG company and makes newer drivers much more frequently and gives them to MS)
the Conexant audio driver issue with 2004 & beyond is "partially" resolved but not fixed 100%. I just uninstall/remove the Conexant driver on an old PC that uses them, reboot and then I can upgrade to 2004 without problem and then re-install the Conexant audio driver afterwards
catinahat - 3 years ago
I think that works for one of the two conexant audio driver known issues, but it doesn't work for the one that affects my machine which has a block for 2004. I'm furious to be forced into a situation to retire a perfectly good laptop just because it won't get security patches anymore. Neither HP or MS have provided a new driver, and frequent checks for updates in device manager always comes back with the message that I the best drivers for my machine. :(
Adantzman - 3 years ago
"I think that works for one of the two Conexant audio driver known issues, but"
This is exactly my situation. I have a 4-year old high-end HP laptop that should be far from retirement. Its specs are still better than a lot of new laptops. It has Bang & Olufsen speakers & Conexant audio drivers...
Worst case scenario is I'll install Linux on it (I think Gnome 40 would be nice with the touch screen), but I do have some proprietary software on it that I'm not sure if it would work well on Linux via using Wine... So this is not an ideal solution either.
Microsoft should provide some sort of path forward for us, and they should communicate to us what we should do. Otherwise this is no better duration of support than Android provides on mobile.
FiercePierce - 3 years ago
On the Microsoft site, end of support is 5/10/2022.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-enterprise-and-education
noelprg4 - 3 years ago
that's for enterprise and education editions of 1909 only