Microsoft: Windows 10 2004 reaches end of service next month

[Porthos]

For those still hanging on to 2004

Microsoft: Windows 10 2004 reaches end of service next month

Microsoft has reminded users today that all editions of Windows 10, version 2004 and Windows Server, version 2004 (also known as the Windows 10 May 2020 Update), will reach end of servicing on December 14, 2021.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Sky-Knight]

Yep, time to do a sweep to find the stragglers!

 

[britechguy]

Has anyone ever waited out the date to see if Windows 10 will do a "forced update" when it arrives?

It has been ages since I've had anyone lag far behind, and even when I did it was often because Windows Update was broken in some way. Of course, if that's the case then manual intervention is required.

But I'd have to believe that, if Windows Update is working, and someone has not applied a later feature update by the time the one they're on reaches end of service, that Windows would force the update. But I've never had any ability to really test this out. Just wondering if anyone actually has.

I actually rather miss the automatic update mechanism that Windows 10 came with, other than the fact that in its very first iteration it could decide to apply updates at random times, but that got fixed as time went along. I still see more problems than I'd like because users don't ever activate the Download and install link for feature updates in a timely manner. And by timely I don't mean on the first day they appear, but after the "shake out" period and well before the next feature update comes down the pike.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@britechguy Yes, I have!

Windows Update behavior post 1909 will force an update when the current release is within 60 days of losing support. When it forces an update, it will leap to whatever current is at the time.

So if you have a 2004 running, and you leave it online long enough for Windows update to process correctly (overnight by default), it'll force a feature update to 21H1. Because we don't have a 21H2 yet... I'm not even sure we'll get one. Windows 11 is "21H2", but yet it isn't...

So does that mean 21H1 is the last Windows 10 release?

Time will tell.

As for the rest, if you are running Pro, you can use the registry changes deployed by Group Policy to achieve the other things you referenced. Home edition however... doesn't care because using Home means you're signing up to be MS's beta tester.

 

[britechguy]

So does that mean 21H1 is the last Windows 10 release?

Time will tell.

Well, 21H1 can't be the last Windows 10 release if Windows 10 is being supported through October 2025, unless Microsoft throws out the entire Windows As A Service convention it's been using since 2015.

But I agree that it's very likely that 21H2 may never come to be, and instead a direct skip to 22H1 for Windows 10 will occur. Unless they have Windows 10 21H2 ready to roll out tomorrow, it makes very little sense at this late date to do anything except move along to 22H1 and skip 21H2 entirely.

The whole "lets make Windows 10 21H2 into Windows 11 instead" move definitely put a wrench in the normal update gears.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@britechguy It's also possible that they've changed Windows 10 as a service to match Windows 11. If I were MS that's what I'd do!

What that means is Windows 10 feature releases are now annual, instead of semi-annual, and each update supported for 2 years instead of 18 months.

If they did that effective 22H1, that would mean Windows 10 feature releases in the Spring, and Windows 11 feature releases in the Fall.

Given their relatively limited development resources to maintain now TWO flagship OS offerings, that's the only pattern that really makes any sense. But who knows, it's all speculation and there's nothing for any of us to do but wait and see.

MS could simply extend the support life of 21H1 until Oct of 2025 for all we know. It's not like even those dates are set in stone.

 

[britechguy]

MS could simply extend the support life of 21H1 until Oct of 2025 for all we know. It's not like even those dates are set in stone.

Indeed. Every fiber of my being senses that the EOL date for Windows 10 is going to be extended by several years. The fact that there are machines currently being sold that are not Windows 11 compatible means that if Microsoft doesn't want to have a PR nightmare on their hands in 2025 they're going to have to have some sort of extended support for that class of machine under Windows 10.

But I don't think that 21H1 will be supported through 2025. We'll end up on a Feature Update schedule for Windows 10 the first one of which, post-Windows-11, remains to be seen. I suspect that the 2 times per year Feature Update rollout will become a thing of the past as you do. It makes way more sense to have one Feature Update per year and those offset from each other by a half a year for Windows 10 versus Windows 11.

 

[Porthos]

Because we don't have a 21H2 yet... I'm not even sure we'll get one. Windows 11 is "21H2", but yet it isn't...

So does that mean 21H1 is the last Windows 10 release?

It is coming. I did mine manually.

 

[britechguy]

And this is mine, after the update that applied last night and I restarted for this morning.

I had not heard a peep, or at least an official peep, recently about Windows 10 Version 21H2. Apparently we're in the midst of a stealth rollout.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@britechguy That popup says 21H1.

*Edit* oh... ok I can read.

19044.1288 is the new version number, it's called the November Windows 10 update, 21H2.

So yeah, it's RTM we're just waiting on the rollout now.

Then there's this from ZDNet: "Microsoft officials have declined to say whether or not Microsoft plans to continue to make two feature updates per year for Windows 10 after 21H2. All they've said publicly is Microsoft will support Windows 10 until October 2025 with security updates and fixes. "

Microsoft is adding another way to update Windows 11 with Online Service Experience Packs

Microsoft's latest Windows 11 Dev Channel test build, No. 22489, includes a new 'Your Microsoft Account' settings page, plus a mention of coming 'Online Service Experience Packs.'

www.zdnet.com

Well, at least we're not bored!

 

[SAFCasper]

No more feature updates after 21H2 would be similar to making an LTS build. 3+ years of security & bugfixes with no major compatibility breaking updates along the way.

Sounds great to me and makes sense because why continue releasing feature updates with no intention of adding new features. Who knows what MS will actually do though. Would be nice of them to communicate things like this so we can plan ahead.