Microsoft Warns that End-of-Life is Near for 1703
Say Farewell to Patches for 1703 in October
Microsoft is reminding enterprise admins that Windows 10, version 1703 of Enterprise and Education editions, is reaching end-of-life on October 9, 2019.
This means that the version will be fully unsupported and will no longer receive new monthly security or quality updates. The consumer versions (Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations, and IoT Core editions) have already reached end-of-life last year on October 8, 2018, and haven’t been receiving updates since.Microsoft’s warning is, of course, no surprise. The 1703 version, the “Creators Update” was released back in early 2017 and originally had 18-month support; however, last September Microsoft extended their servicing period to 30 months for the 1703 Enterprise and Education editions.
“There is no extended support available for any edition of Windows 10, version 1703. Therefore, it will no longer be supported after October 9, 2019 and will not receive monthly security and quality updates containing protections from the latest security threats,” Microsoft warned.
While Windows 10 has received a fixed deadline, Microsoft has also been crafting its offer of paid Windows 7 patches to enterprise customers still running the older operating system, after it also ends support on January 14th, 2020.
Enterprise Agreement (EA) and Enterprise Subscription Agreement (EAS) customers with active subscriptions to Windows 10 E5, Microsoft 365 E5, and Microsoft 365 E5 Security can opt-in for ‘Windows 7 Extended Security Updates’ for a year at no additional charge. The promotion will run from June 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019.
What should you do next?
Even though Microsoft has announced that it would offer continued security updates to businesses for the maturing operating system, the free updates will definitely cease after January 14th, 2020.
For those who are still on Windows 10, version 1703, and need to migrate: move to a newer and supported feature update version, such as 1809, 1903, or even 19H2 (to be released in September or October of this year). Always double-check the endpoint capabilities and whether or not it can support the latest, supported versions of Windows 10. For more information on Windows 10 pre-requisites, you can always check with Microsoft’s requirements.
Whether you’re a consumer with an outdated version of Windows 10 or Windows 7, or an enterprise admin nearing, or even past, end-of-life Windows 10 versions, any unsupported version of Windows has potential to be attacked and exploited through the use of malware or even ransomware.
