The regular, consumer version of Windows 10 isn’t the only Windows release reaching or having reached end-of-life, now middling on under the Extended Security Updates program for the many people sticking with the venerable release. Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 (October 13, 2026), Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB (October 13, 2026), and Windows Server 2016 (January 12, 2027) are all reaching end-of-life soon, too. On the listed dates, these versions of Windows will receive their final monthly security updates.
As with Windows 10 for consumers, however, there’s a way out: the Extended Security Updates program will also kick in for these versions, offering critical and important security updates, and support relating to just those. The program will be offered for up to three years after official support ends, and won’t be free. For Server 2016 and and Enterprise LTSB 2016, pricing will be $61 per year, but it would double for every year after the first. Pricing for IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB is available upon request.
Of course, Microsoft urges you to upgrade to newer versions – Windows Server 2025, Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024, and Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 – but if you’re happy with your current version, you can at least get a three-year reprieve, for a price.
I used to do Windows Server “Workstation” (our university used to get a lot of free licenses for personal use).
(The original site seems to be down, here is story covering those:
https://www.osnews.com/story/20070/switching-to-windows-workstation-2008/)
The most difficult part was getting the games to run, otherwise it was a decent OS. Disable some server options that are not needed, maybe install chrome, And it became a much more secure, lean, and functional version of Windows (as it should be in ideal conditions)
I’m not sure why they don’t sell this as a product. I know Windows itself is just a vessel to sell online services (and now AI), but there is a distinct segment that just wants a professional OS without all that cruft.
It exists in the form of Enterprise LTSC, but that is pretty much impossible to legally obtain as an individual or even a small business. Also, the Windows 11 version of Enterprise LTSC actually downloads the Copilot+/Recall slop after installation if you don’t mitigate it right away, that stuff is getting harder and harder to avoid.
I have a feeling Windows 12 will be cloud-native; you will install a stub that streams the rest of the OS to your computer. If you don’t have a regular internet connection — with all the tracking and profiling that entails — you’re hosed and won’t be able to access your data or software. There will, of course, be offline versions of that release for vertical markets like banks and other large organizations, but the regular end users will all be force-fed Windows-as-a-Service whether they like it or not.
Morgan,
I’m not so sure local offline versions are a safe long term bet even for large organizations. My wife works for the government and they’ve already migrated to windows 365 where they deal with sensitive information and it’s all going to microsoft. IMHO it’s stupid to become so critically dependent on systems that are fundamentally controlled by outside parties. As much as we may criticize it though, it’s happening. I’m left wondering about the viability of local compute in a decade and beyond.
I’m all for pushing alternatives like linux, but we’re going to be effected all the same if local compute becomes marginalized by mainstream PC vendors. Powerful commodity computers with storage could fade off the market and become even less accessible for those of us running linux. I am already seeing the impact that microsoft onedrive is having, hording user data outside of the computer without owners even realizing that microsoft are taking control of their data. The ramifications of this are coming!
A computer that’s useless without a network connection is pretty terrible. It works OK in thin client environments with hard-wired ethernet, but as soon as you leave the safety of copper or glass and rely on EMS, things start to get spotty and unreliable quickly. If i’m on a train and doing work, i don’t want my laptop to stop responding as soon as i enter a tunnel. Likewise, emergency services don’t want their computers to stop working if they lose cell phone signal or Starlink connectivity.
The123king,
I feel the same way.. Still, despite all the reasons that local compute is important, it may end up becoming increasingly marginalized for enterprise and end consumers alike. The digital independence of owners could become nothing more than a distant memory. I’d hope for more people standing up against the tech giants that are doing this, but they have so much control and so many consumers act as lemmings following the tech giants agenda down this hole.
Alfman,
Agreed.
They could easily say: “Yes we have an offering for use at embedded systems, ATMs and mission critical devices. And no you can’t get it. I will only give you the Electron infested one”
Or… they actually do that today.
Btw, things are going to get pretty interesting
Colorado is working on a bill that mandates age verification for all operating systems, including open source ones (they explicitly call them out). Along with usual user space APIs, and yada yada…
Normally, I would just ignore nonsense. After all open source does not have boundaries.
But guess which companies have offices there?
a. IBM (RedHat, Fedora)
b. System_76 (their laptops, the new Pop!_OS, and the desktop environment)
c. Google (Chrome OS, Android)
d. Amazon (AWS)
Actually the answer is (e) all of them
That’s finally the biggest incentive to switch to Linux once and for all.
Kochise,
Do not worry, Linux distributors also are shooting their own feet, in their own unique ways.
Like, “fragmentation” ? That’s the result of “shooting” something, indeed.
“always have been”