Microsoft declared that Windows 10 21H2, affectionately known as the November 2021 Update, will reach end of support on June 11, 2024.
As explained in a company announcement, the termination of support will primarily affect Education and Enterprise customers, resulting in a halt to the monthly quality updates that are released to address bugs and vulnerabilities.
Although users can upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10, the move represents a step closer to the popular operating system’s demise.
Windows 10 21H2 reaches EOS
The change affects Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, Windows 10 Education, and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise.
Instead of running an unsupported OS, Microsoft is urging affected users to upgrade to a newer version of Windows 10. Version 22H2, the final version of Windows 10, has already had its end-of-support date confirmed: October 14, 2025.
Microsoft has committed to rolling out automatic updates for those running unsupported OSs in order to ensure that devices remain protected against bugs and security issues.
Windows is used on seven in 10 (72%) desktops globally, according to Statcounter, however Windows 10 continues to prove irresistible to business users, with two-thirds (67%) of all installs represented by Windows 10. By comparison, Windows 11 only accounts for 28% of installs.
Moreover, Microsoft also recently started enforcing the 23H2 version of Windows 11 on eligible devices reaching their end-of-service date. The latest iteration of Windows 11 introduced enterprise- and education-focused upgrades as well as support for Passkeys and AI enhancements delivered by the built-in Copilot.
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