Microsoft has confirmed that some versions of the Windows 10 enterprise operating system will be end of life (EOS) by May 9, 2023.
The affected version of Windows 10 was released in October 2020 with the code name 20H2, specifically the Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session, Education, and IoT Enterprise editions.
For some users, the warning may not come as a surprise as individual users have already been notified. Other versions including Home, Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations, and Team have already been announced for EOS in May 2022.
Windows 10 20H2 EOS
Microsoft Support page (opens in a new tab) explains that the remaining 20H2 builds “will no longer receive security updates after May 9, 2023”, instead advising customers to upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10 or upgrade to Windows 11.
While corporate and educational users will still be able to use 20H2, they will no longer receive security updates and patches, putting them at greater risk of cybersecurity threats.
While the exact number of 20H2 users remains unclear, Windows 10 continues to be the company’s most popular operating system, accounting for more than two-thirds (69%) of all installations (by statistics counter (opens in a new tab)).
Despite the surge in popularity in recent months, Windows 11 lags far behind, accounting for less than one installation in five (18%).
In another support article (opens in a new tab)Microsoft explained: “Since the release of Windows 10, we’ve been helping Windows users stay up to date and secure supported versions of Windows with automatic updates.”
For many, this may mean that the EOS 20H2 is nothing to worry about, but companies that take a more proactive approach to deploying OS updates may need to take action to maintain an optimal level of security.