14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has decided to extend support for another Windows version, this time with six months, as the company wants to give customers more time to upgrade their devices.
Windows 10 November Update (version 1511), which was supposed to receive its last updates in October, will be supported for another half of year, but only for devices running the Education and the Enterprise versions of the operating system.
While it’s not known how many systems are still running the November Update, seeing the Education and Enterprise SKUs getting extended support is not at all surprising, as organizations running these versions are typically slower than the rest of the market when it comes to updating to the latest Windows 10 releases.
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On the other hand, it’s worth knowing that Windows 10 version 1511 launched in November 2015, so these organizations had two years to prepare the upgrade, and now they’ll have to accelerate their migration plans in the next 6 months.
“To help some early enterprise adopters that are still finishing their transition to Windows as a service, we will be providing a supplemental servicing package for Windows 10, version 1511 for an additional six months, until April 2018, providing updates to address critical and important security issues that arise during that time,” Microsoft explains in an advisory released today.
“These updates will be available to anyone using Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1511 or Windows 10 Education, version 1511. Updates will be offered via all normal channels, including Windows Update, WSUS, Configuration Manager, and the Windows Update catalog.”
Microsoft has already released three different OS updates after the November Update, namely the Anniversary Update, the Creators Update, and the Fall Creators Update, and those running older versions of Windows 10 should upgrade to the most recent one to make sure they benefit from a longer support period. Support for Windows 10 version 1709 should continue until March 2019.