Windows Server 2022 mainstream support ends next month
The 2021 release moves to extended support in October, with free security updates continuing until 2031.
Key points
- Windows Server 2022 reaches end of mainstream support on 13 October 2026, per a Microsoft advisory published Friday.
- Extended support then runs until 14 October 2031, with free monthly security fixes.
- Hotpatching for Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition is extended to October 2027, one year past the mainstream cutoff.
- Microsoft is steering admins toward Windows Server 2025, which reached general availability in November 2024 and carries mainstream support until 13 November 2029.
Microsoft has told customers that Windows Server 2022, released in September 2021 as its Long-Term Servicing Channel server OS, drops out of mainstream support on 13 October 2026. After that date the product enters extended support: security fixes keep shipping, but new features stop and most non-security bug requests won't be accepted.
The extended phase runs to 14 October 2031. Security updates in that window are free, which differs from how some older Windows Server extended support was handled.
What actually changes on 13 October 2026?
Not much, for a while. Servers keep booting. Patches keep arriving. What ends is new functionality, design changes and non-security hotfixes. The October 2026 Patch Tuesday drop will be the last mainstream update; everything after is security-only.
One useful exception: Microsoft is extending hotpatching (the feature that lets admins apply security updates without rebooting) for a further year on Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition, through October 2027.
Should admins rush to upgrade?
No, but planning should start now. Microsoft is steering customers toward Windows Server 2025, the current Long-Term Servicing Channel release, which became generally available in November 2024. Our coverage of the Windows Server 2025 memory bug on 8 September is a reminder that early adopters have already hit real compatibility problems, so lab testing before committing matters.
Windows Server 2025 gets mainstream support until 13 November 2029 and extended support until 14 November 2034. A free 180-day trial is available through the Microsoft Evaluation Center.
The support dates at a glance
| Product | Mainstream end | Extended end |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2022 | 13 Oct 2026 | 14 Oct 2031 |
| Windows Server 2022 hotpatch (Azure Edition) | Oct 2027 | n/a |
| Windows Server 2025 | 13 Nov 2029 | 14 Nov 2034 |
| Windows 10 consumer ESU | n/a | 12 Oct 2027 |
The consumer angle matters too. Microsoft quietly extended free Windows 10 Extended Security Updates for consumers by a year in June, so enrolled home devices keep getting patches until 12 October 2027. That was first flagged by BleepingComputer over the summer, and we covered the September ESU rollout when the final Windows 10 security rollup KB5122878 shipped.
What this actually means for IT teams
Five years of free security updates is a generous runway, and most shops will use every month of it. Microsoft wants Server 2025 adoption to accelerate without forcing a costly migration cliff, and the no-cost extended-support model is how they get there. The real pressure to switch won't come from Microsoft; it'll come from software vendors dropping Server 2022 compatibility well before 2031.
Inventory the estate now. Identify workloads pinned to Server 2022 by third-party software, start compatibility testing on Server 2025 in a lab, and book change windows early. 2031 sounds distant until a compliance auditor asks for a migration plan.
Organisations still running Windows Server 2012 or 2016 in forgotten corners of the network should treat this as the prompt to deal with those versions first. They're already on paid ESU or out of support entirely.
