Windows 10 version 1607 reaches end of life next month
With Microsoft pushing out two feature updates per year, and each feature update supported by 18 months only, it is a regular occurrence that Windows users upgrade their Windows 10 PCs to a new version.
For those of you who still run Windows 10 version 1607, generally known as the Anniversary Update, it is time to fire up the update engine and update to a newer version of Windows 10 as support for Windows 10 version 1607 will run out next month.
To be precise, April 10, 2018 will be the last Patch Day for the operating system. Microsoft won't release any update, security or otherwise, for the operating system once the date has passed.
This is true for Home editions only, as Enterprise and Education systems will receive another six months of servicing before they reach end of service.
Windows 10 version 1511, 1607, 1703 and 1709 will continue to receive monthly servicing updates at no-cost for a period of 6 months past the end of service dates. The security-only updates are available through all normal channels including: Windows Update (WU/WUfB), WSUS, the Update Catalog, and enterprise management solutions and are delivered as standard cumulative update packages.
Some versions of Enterprise and Education editions will have an option for an additional paid extension for eligible volume licensing customers. Customers should reach out to their Microsoft account team for more information about a paid program.
Microsoft did extend the support period in the past for certain Windows 10 versions but I would not hold my breath that the company will do the same for the Anniversary Update version of Windows 10.
Microsoft customers who operate Windows 10 Home or Premium computer systems that are still running the Anniversary Update can theoretically upgrade to any version of Windows 10 that is still supported.
Provided that compatibility issues or hardware restrictions won't keep the device from being upgraded to a new version of Windows 10, it may make sense to upgrade to Windows 10 version 1709 or even to Windows 10 version 1803 which will be released in April 2018.
Why? Because if you'd upgrade to Windows 10 version 1703, the Creators Update, you'd have to upgrade to a new version again after six months of operation.
While systems won't be offline for nearly as long anymore as before, as Microsoft improved the upgrade process and cut down on the offline time, it still is seen as a nuisance by many users.
The downside to skipping feature updates is that you will end up with an accumulation of changes introduced in skipped versions and the version that is installed on the machine.
While you will still recognize the Windows desktops and use core programs and tools, you'd have to spend more time getting to know the system as more Settings may have been moved around, renamed, or modified.
Some devices are stuck on the Anniversary Update but Microsoft revealed that it will support those with patches even after support ends for the version of Windows 10.
Closing Words
The rapid release process that Microsoft introduced for its Windows 10 operating system may speed up the delivery of new features and changes to users.
I'm not sold on the idea that this is indeed more beneficial than the release of service packs for the operating system but Microsoft seems to believe that this is the way to go forward.
While users will get new features faster this way, it is clear that the new rapid release system requires more work on the users part to keep the system up to date and keep up with all the changes that Microsoft introduces in new versions.
Now You: Which version of Windows do you run currently, and why?
I have a PC that’s still running 1607 without a single hiccup. I locked it down using Group Policy when the Creator’s Update was released. I have other PC’s that are running the now (08/2019) current version of Win 10 and one thing I find interesting is that at idle they use double the amount of RAM and then are very reluctant after closing a program to release the increase. My 1607 build releases the RAM immediately after closing a program, going back to 1.67 Gig, just like at idle.
I use this PC strictly for Flight Sim (well, Prepar3D) so I’m not that worried about updates on it. I use Windows Defender as AV and it still updates and scans just like it always has. So, until it turns into a $2,000 brick I’ll continue to happily use 1607 on it. Just my 2 cents worth.
1607 enterprise version does not have 6 months of security updates after the servicing ends. 4/9/2019 was the last.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4490393/windows-10-version-1607-end-of-servicing-on-april-9-2019
Don’t know why my laptop is still stuck on this version of windows? 6700hq & 960m, so no unsupported hw. Do you know if any of the apps like win10privacy, anti beacon or oosu10 blocks major updates? Can’t remember if I have done any tweaks like that because I’ve been getting normal updates all the time so… I dont want to do a clean install because i will lose some features specific to my laptop which aren’t available on the manufacturers website to download, funnily enough.
on win7 hit ms key + r; type services and delete upgrades,telemetry, etc. than open network connections and delete the ms pipeline.
Problem Solved. Mr Martin documented this here
in 07 for XP…I did it and it works freakin Great…It kills ALL the MS background noise.
or like pants says “the parrot is dead”
Have a Great Day
How do you expect anyone to follow all this garbage
Hello Everyone:
I have Windows 10 PRO – Build 16299 should I worry about an upgrade?
I hope someone can give me a qualified answer.
Thanks Guys and Gals!
i
Windows 7* here (and on a new PC MS doesn’t want me to run it on either).
For me, the primary function of an OS is to run my programs, and to be reliable, dependable and trustworthy. I don’t need questionable features shoving down my throat every few months, combined with lengthy periods when my PC isn’t available for use whilst it is “updating”.
Windows 10 isn’t trustworthy or dependable, so it has no place on any of my systems.
* I do also have a NUC running Ubuntu, and I like that Ubuntu offers everyone the choice between the regularly updated version, or the more dependable LTS version – and guess which one I’m using…
I’m staying with W7 until I move to some flavor of Linux, or who knows what. W10 has nothing I need or want but a lot of “stuff” I don’t.
We’ve had customers that own PC’s that have failed to install feature updates since 1607, one since the original Windows 10 was installed. In each case a clean install from a USB stick, made with MS’s media creation tool, worked well. We reinstalled their programs and restored their data files. The clean installs ran much faster also. There’s a lot of rot in Windows 10, in all versions of Windows actually.
@Jeff – That’s funny….at first, I read your comment as ‘waiting for the end of life of Satya’!!
But mistake or joking aside, I think you’ll be waiting some time for Windows EOL!
Nah sorry, sticking with Debian which is too freaking fast for me!
I am waiting for Windows 10 end of life and Satya Nadella, Terry Myerson and Joe Belfiore end of employment at Microsoft
It seems that MS doesn’t want to support a version for even 18 months (540 days), as evidenced by them recently ignoring deferral settings (again) and forcing version updates to 1709, six months before end of support for 1703.
Except for LTSB which is supported for 10 years.
The whole problem with Microsoft is they took a well established productive product that they made revenue off of and turned it into a revenue tool for them that they give away for free. Great for them, anyone who uses their product, not so much.
Kind of. While the LTSB/Server are supported until 2026, Microsoft is also going to support Home/Pro/EnterpriseCBB 1607 until 2023, to match the Windows 8.1 support cycle. They forced Win10 on some 8.1 machines which can not go beyond 1607.
I assume they just want most consumers and businesses to be on, at least, 1709 in a few months. Funny how Win10 was supposed to eradicate fragmentation, but in return it just made it worse.
I like staying current with all software I use, including Windows 10. There are new features I like, and those I do not I disable or otherwise do not use. No significant problems for many years with this philosophy, but it is obviously not appropriate for many users.
I’m on 1607, Anniversary Update.
Microsoft are pretty keen to get people like me off it, by several means, including the recent “Update Assistant” (KB 4023057)….
https [://] www . computerworld . com/article/3265685/microsoft-windows/more-windows-patches-and-warnings-about-the-win10-1709-update-kb-4089848 .html
…..which effectively bypasses attempts by people to stop updates, by forcing them through by other means, anyway and regardless.
I’ll stick to 1607 thanks Microsoft! Haha….you won’t get me, I really have got it nailed down.
So you’re happy to not receive any more fixes etc after April? Why? You will effectively be running a system that more and more software will start to flag as ‘unsupported’, just like Windows XP.
I understand a reluctance to be coerced into it, but to deliberately not receive further fixes just to ‘prove a point’ that nobody will take any notice of anyway, seems a bit daft somehow.
@ Sophie
This is what they called, “By hook or by crook”.
IOW, M$ is not your friend, ie more like a no-good hacker.
.
Imagine, M$ has been using processor-blocking updates via Windows Update to block new computers with the latest silicon/processor from running older but still supported versions of Win 10 or Win 7/8.1.
@AnorKnee – and this makes the situation even more crazy! They are seriously trying to enforce updates on one hand, yet on the other….trying to deny them to other selective groups.
We each have to take our own defensive actions, as we see fit (or not).
That’s the secret behind these constant feature updates that MS shove down your throat. it was true back then and it’s still is.
“A strategy devised by Myhrvold the salesman was just as significant. He laid it out in a memo to Gates in 1992: “Regular upgrades are important for both revenue and loyalty…A feeling of progress and improvement is necessary to keep users loyal…and an important way to produce revenue. Upgrades are the closest thing we have to an annual fee or subscription.†Within two years, Microsoft’s Windows had 25m licensed, upgrading users, 80% of all PCs ran it and the company’s revenues were approaching $5 billion. Myhrvold became head of research, with that R&D budget of $2 billion”
https://www.1843magazine.com/content/features/myth-buster
“A feeling of progress and improvement is necessary to keep users loyal”
Funny, that. The fact that Windows 10 updates are both frequent and forced doesn’t give me a “a feeling of progress and improvement”. It gives me a feeling of trepidation, annoyance, and occasionally anger.
That’s because Microsoft have incompetent devs incapable to make a stable OS and with a “Users = Beta-testers” mindset. Instead we get one buggy feature update after another.
@Tighaz
There are a ton of things that Microsoft can legitimately criticized for, but having incompetent devs isn’t one of them. The issues with Windows are a result of management deciding to reduce QA radically, and business decisions on the part of management, not the lack of skilled developers.
@ wonderBoi
That was talking about the need for M$ to implement one upgrade per 3 years from 1992 onwards. Eg …
Win 3.0 = 1990
Win 95 = 1995
Win 98 = 1998
Win XP = 2001
Win Vista = 2006
Win 7 = 2009
Win 8 = 2012
Win 10 = 2015
To out-market Apple MacOS during the 1990s, M$ offered a lifecycle of about 10 years for every version of Windows, which has to be licensed or paid-for. Hence, most Windows users, esp business-users, paid-for and ran each version of Windows for about 10 years before upgrading, eg paid-for and ran Win 3.1 from 1992 onwards, upgraded from Win 3.1 to Win XP in 2001 and upgraded to Win 7 in 2010 – – – upgrade to ??? in 2020.?
So, to “suck” more $$$ out of Windows users, esp business users, M$ has further implemented more rapid twice-per-year upgrades for Win 10 in 2015, mainly in order to prevent the users from paying and running Win 10 for about 10 years, like they used to previously. …
It seems, recently, some Win 10 Home and Pro users are finding out that their 4 to 5 year old computers cannot be upgraded to Win 10 1709 = will be forced to buy new OEM Win 10 computers = more profit$ for M$ and the OEMs.
Businesses who have bought Win 10 Ent Volume Licenses(VL) are forced to also buy the additional 3-year-term Software Assurance(SA) if they want to use Win 10 Ent for more than 2 years because each version of Win 10 Ent has an EOL of only 18+6 = 24 months. Otherwise, the businesses need to buy the doubly-expensive 10-year Win 10 Ent LTSC VL or monthly subscriptions.
……. Previously, businesses could buy Win 7 Ent VL without any SA and use it for about 10 years, ie until EOL in 2020.
In short, after out-marketing Apple and gaining a market-monopoly, M$ has morphed into another rotten and greedy Apple, ie a control-freak and profit-gouger.
“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!” I have a hard time solely placing the blame on “greed” of the seller when there are choices. What the hell you expect, sellers to roll over? I certainly think these “feature updates” are garbage, but they are a trend, and have been working for the majority of people who simply don’t care. Techies are a minority!
Excellent analysis of the the ongoing Windows 10 saga AnorKnee Merce. And I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say.
As for myself, I’m a happy Windows 8.1 user who didn’t fall for the “free upgrade” offer when it first appeared due primarily to privacy concerns.
Once support for 8.1 expires in 2023, it’ll be the end of the road for me as a Windows user and I’ll switch to a Linux distro unless some other alternative comes along by then.
@ AnorK @ TeIV – yes, but also more than that….because MS then sacked a good deal of their testers, R&D, bug fixers (to further cut costs) and then turn us all into guinea pigs for their buggy software……… just one of the reasons for the dismal quality of the updates.
I myself became wary and cautious about updates “before” they were so bad….in the days of Windows7………… never mind now!!!
Now, things are order-of-magnitude worse.
Corporate greed, at the very least.
Running 1709 without any problems. As for why well I like keeping that pc on the latest. Needed a reinstall anyhow after that ccleaner hack and why not go with the lastest. This time around will not see a fresh install since not using windows much after dual booting GNU/Linux. May drop windows 10 back on here to just to see if it will still activate after what 14 months maybe.