Time to upgrade those Windows 10 version 1507 machines
Microsoft announced on Thursday that the original release version of Windows 10 will reach the end of servicing on January 26, 2017.
Windows 10 version 1507 was released in July 2015 by Microsoft. It was the Windows 10 RTM version that Windows customers could purchase, or upgrade for free to.
Microsoft released two feature updates for Windows 10 since then. First the so-called November Update, released in November 2015, and then the Anniversary Update, released in August 2016.
Windows as a service is a new concept that Microsoft introduced with its Windows 10 operating system. The company introduced several new concepts, including servicing branches.
Windows 10 version 1507 EOL
There are three servicing branches, one reserved for the Enterprise, another for Professional versions (including Enterprise).
All Windows installations start in the Current Branch by default. Home users have no option but to stick with it, while Professional and Enterprise customers may switch to the Current Branch for Business instead.
The core difference is that feature upgrades become available at a later time for devices in that servicing branch, giving customers more time to test the changes before deployment.
Any Windows 10 feature update, including the first initial release of Windows 10 version 1507, will be supported for at least 18 months by Microsoft. It can be supported longer than that, as it depends on when feature updates are declared Current Branch for Business.
Microsoft will always support two Current Branch for Business releases at a time. The company made the Windows 10 Anniversary Update the second Current Branch for Business release (the first is the Windows 10 November Update).
With two CBB releases available, Windows 10 version 1507 is no longer one. There will always be a 60 day grace period for any release that falls out of CBB. This period begins on January 26th, 2017 for Windows 10, version 1507.
With the availability of Windows 10, version 1607 to the VLSC on January 26th, the 60-day grace period for Windows 10, version 1507 will begin. That means, after March 26th, 2017, Windows 10, version 1507 will no longer be serviced as only the two most Current Branch for Business (CBB) versions are actively serviced.
What this means is that this particular version of Windows 10 will no longer be supported by Microsoft after that grace period. Windows 10, version 1507 reaches end of support on March 26th, 2017.
Microsoft won't release updates for that particular version of Windows 10 anymore after that date. Users may however upgrade to one of the two supported CBB releases, the November 2015 or the August 2016 versions of Windows 10 to continue receiving support.
Microsoft released media for Windows 10 version 1607, the most recent CBB release.
Today we are releasing updated media for Windows 10 v1607 (also known as the Windows 10 Anniversary Update) on Windows Update for Business, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and MSDN Subscriptions. We will also be releasing updated refreshed media for Windows 10, version 1607 to the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) on January 26, 2017.
Public downloads of the most recent Windows 10 ISO image are available on this page.
If you are using anything beyond Windows 7, you have my condolences. You payed a lot of money for garbage which even has the audacity to spy on you for being a lazy slob. Congrats, you are the reason why companies like Apple & Microsoft exist. Without you, this kind of trash would not exist in this world. Now go and bee a good sheeple and pay your licenses.
Pathetic. All of you.
I still see version 1507 machines in people’s homes even now. There seems to have been a glitch with the 1511 release where some machines didn’t receive it automatically. Of course, most home users don’t even know there are several releases of Windows 10, let alone know which one they’re running. So I’d guess a fair few machines will see updates stop shortly – and the owners won’t even know it’s happened.
Microsoft don’t want another XP condition but they already have as windows 10 don’t meet user taste.
Microsoft say windows 7 will be vulnerable within 3 years but the comment of windows 10 user say they are try
to protect them self from Microsoft right now.
I’m using windows 7 and I value the privacy of my customer more then my own, so that “spyware thing” wont fly for
my business.
I’m watching close windows 10 development, Microsoft have 3 years time to make it right and I have 3 years time to
thing an alternative.
Time to update those Win10 version 1507 to Linux! :)
What a joke. But not a surprise. Windows 10 is NOT the last version of Windows. They will be dropping support and switching to their latest iteration just like always, only changing the secondary number from 1507 to 1607. Are they going to be as bossy and invasive as usual? I’d bet they are.
Fed up.
They can’t reneg on their words. They said Win10 was the last WINDOZE. But that does not preclude them from calling their next OS by another name. For example, Windows 11 won’t be called that but maybe Microsoft Universal OS version 1.0…
This was made clear a long time ago. Of course they aren’t going to keep 3 (4 if you count creator’s update) builds patched.
I love it that ms calls 1607 an LTSB, in linux distro land an LTSB is something that is rock solid and won’t break and will be around for a long time. I guess ms has a different idea of what an LTSB is, lol.
As long as I will still (??) be able to install and activate an early Windows 10 version, I’ll be happy. I have an expensive program at work which I won’t be updating to be compatible with newer Windows 10 versions.
Hey there RossN…
What you are thinking may be problematic. Traditionally, you could always install and activate an older version of windows. Then automatic updates would kick in and try to upgrade your old version. If you somehow defeated this upgrade process, MS would find a way to nag you about it…
A lot of this has changed with Windows 10, and many believe not for the better!
Any version of Win10 setup.exe immediately checks for updates BEFORE installation even begins. I reckon you can bugger this by making sure you are NOT connected to the internet when you begin an install or run setup.exe. Still, once installed, as soon as you connect to the internet, I expect windows will inform you it’s going to upgrade, and as I said, defeating this won’t be a one-time experience… You might find yourself in an on-going battle to keep your old version in tact.
I don’t mean to rain on your parade, and others with more knowledge than I may have solutions for you… My wife (God bless her) runs Windows 7 Ultimate along with MS Office 2013, and that’s what she knows and that’s what she wants. I’ve had a devil of a time keeping her system the way she wants it. I’ve shown her my Win10 and Office 2016… She’ll have none of it!
I don’t blame her. She paid for her laptop and everything on it. Her question: “Why can’t I just keep what I have, what I know how to use, and what I paid for?”
She has all the original CD’s with the product keys and all that jazz, she even saved receipts showing how much she paid. She can be stubborn, but ya know what? I reckon she has a completely valid point.
Why can’t she continue to work, and compute, in HER comfort zone?
Regards,
Mr. Joey
Reason I blocked updates in Win10 is b/c I’m running it on a tablet. One botched update and it could brick my device…
I think you’re doing her a disservice here. Software always change (that has always been the rule of the game) and that is only getting more and more prevalent. From the social media websites you visits to the apps and OS on your phone and the online services you’re dependent on. I’ve gone through the same considerations as you, but come to the conclusion that it is better/easier for my wife to simply adjust to the incremental changes that occur over time than having her adjust massive changes every 3rd year or so.
Anyways, if you want to keep things stable, Windows isn’t the way to go anymore. Go with Linux or MacOS instead.
I used a script to disable windows update at regular intervals (so MS can’t sneakily reenable). Still on a Win10 build from aeons ago. I’m connected to the net so it’s had aeons to do the forced update but didn’t b/c of the script.