Windows Update and Technical Support Deadlines Scheduled
This page is saved for archival reference, as Windows 11 has now been released and Windows 12 is anticipated.
See: Windows 10 and 11 Books and References from Amazon
At this time, Windows 7 support is schedule to continue until January of 2020, just under two years from now. This doesn't mean your Windows 7 computers will stop working. They just won't get tech support or security updates after that time.
Windows 10 meanwhile is being updated and improved regularly. Most recently, version 1803 is loaded with new improved features.
In future mailings I'll get into some of the great features you may like. At this moment though, many users are concerned with updates and security issues.
Most of the Windows 10 updates for home users consist of monthly updates that come in pairs about mid-month. One is a features update and the other is a security update. The features updates add and improve dozens of features that expand the things you can do on your computer and the internet. The security updates serve to protect the computer from hacking or destabilizing code.
Typically, twice a year there are more significant upgrades in the Windows version. These are numbered, e.g. "version 1803" (the most current version available to most home computers), and often "named" (such as, the "Creator's Update" in 2017).
These major upgrades require more time than the monthly updates. Typically they may take a few hours to download and a few hours to install.
This spring a lot of Windows users received notifications that they needed to upgrade to a newer version because their old version would no longer receive security support. Most computer users getting these notifications were using version 1709 or prior (1511, 1607 or 1703). When a new version is issued, then features and security updates for the older version will cease within a period of months thereafter.
It can be confusing, but fortunately Microsoft is following a set schedule for new versions and updates, and is publicizing revisions in that schedule as required.
Early this year the schedule was revised because of the discovery of a security flaw in computer processing chips that required Microsoft and other companies to issue special security patches (primarily this past January and February).
Nevertheless, Windows does adhere to a schedule for version upgrades and updates, especially with its shift to a Windows-as-a-service (WaaS) concept with development and release of Windows 10.
Most home users can let Windows updating take care of itself, but it's a good idea to keep an eye on version upgrades when they come along - and especially not allow updates to get piled up uninstalled. This is why it's a good idea to completely shut down and restart your computer with some regularity even if your daily routine is to just let the computer go to sleep.
Beyond current version 1803, here are some general dates ahead to keep in mind:
July 31, 2018 - Version 1803, aka the "April 2018 Update," will extend from consumer customers to enterprise-wide deployment.
Sept. 11, 2018 - Release of 1809 begins between Sept. 11 and late October.
Oct. 9, 2018 - Microsoft retires support for version 1703, the early-2017 feature upgrade labeled Creators Update, for customers running Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro.
April 9, 2019 - Microsoft removes Windows 10 1709, aka 2017's Fall Creators Update, from the Windows 10
Home and Windows 10 Pro support lists, halting security and non-security updates to devices running those editions.
Jan. 14, 2020 - Microsoft will retire Windows 7 from support on this date, marking the general deadline for enterprises to replace that OS with Windows 10.
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