One of the changes that was introduced in Windows 10 was its support model. Generally, Microsoft supported the operating system from its release until the end of support. Likewise, a Service Pack was launched to maintain it and extend the life cycle, but, broadly, the system died as it was born after several years. Now, with Windows 10, Microsoft releases Windows updates every 6 months , and each of these updates has a support limited to 18 months. However, this is going to change very soon.
Windows 10 October 2020 Update is already among us. Little by little more and more users are installing this small update on their computers through Windows Update. This new version doesn’t bring many changes to the operating system, but it does improve the stability, performance, and overall Windows experience. And so happy has Microsoft been with its new update that it has decided to extend the support of two of its editions to 30 months.
| Name | Version | Launching | End support | With support? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTM | 1507 | July 29, 2015 | May 9, 2017 | NOT |
| November Update | 1511 | November 10, 2015 | October 10, 2017 | NOT |
| Anniversary Update | 1607 | August 2, 2016 | 10 April 2018 | NOT |
| Creators Update | 1703 | April 5, 2017 | Oct 9, 2018 | NOT |
| Fall Creators Update | 1709 | October 17, 2017 | April 9, 2019 | NOT |
| April 2018 Update | 1803 | April 30, 2018 | November 12, 2019 | NOT |
| October 2018 Update | 1809 | November 13, 2018 | November 10, 2020 | YES |
| May 2019 Update | 1903 | May 21, 2019 | December 8, 2020 | YES |
| November 2019 Update | 1909 | November 12, 2019 | May 11, 2021 | YES |
| May 2020 Update | 2004 | May 27, 2020 | December 14, 2021 | YES |
| October 2020 Update | 2009 | October 20, 2020 | – | Yes |
30 months of support for Windows 10 October 2020 Update Enterprise and Education
Along with the announcement of the release of this new update, Microsoft has made a major announcement regarding the Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10 . These editions are intended for use in businesses and schools, and offer an enhanced, more secure, and private experience across the entire Microsoft ecosystem.
Obviously, the company is aware of the disruption that companies and institutions have to update Windows every 6 months. Even speeding up the life cycle, every 18. Therefore, starting with this new October 2020 Update, the company has decided to extend support to 30 months , that is, two and a half years.
This gives companies more time to test their platforms and infrastructures well before updating to the new version of Windows and to do it without haste and without fear that soon it will be time to do the same work again. All those who install the October 2020 Update of these editions will continue to receive support and all kinds of free updates until April 2023 .
Microsoft has not made any further statements in this regard, but if it has decided to extend this support for another year it may mean that very big changes to the operating system come, changes that can generate stability or problems, things that companies cannot assume. We will have to wait to see new announcements about it and if Microsoft decides to continue giving 30 months of support to the next versions or it returns until 18.
All other Windows 10 20H2 users will have standard support
These 30 months will only apply to Education and Enterprise editions of Windows 10 October 2020 Update. Users of any of the other editions of the operating system, such as the Pro and Home, will not be able to enjoy this long support.
The new Windows 10 20H2 will be supported until May 2022, from which date it will be without support or updates, just like all versions of Windows released today more than 18 months ago. However, when this happens we will already have several more versions to update to, so we would not have to worry.
