Windows 7 was originally released approximately 10 years ago already on October 22, 2009. With the planned lifespan of Windows 7 (as is common with Windows releases in general) being 10 years, the Windows 7 end of life, or end of support, for the product is approaching very soon. In fact, support for Windows 7 from Microsoft will end on January 14, 2020.

Windows 7 End of Support

Support for Windows 7 from Microsoft will end on January 14, 2020

The end of life, or end of support, of Windows 7 by Microsoft is coming January 14, 2020. After this date, technical assistance and software updates (including security updates) will no longer be available for Windows 7.

The best practice recommendation from Microsoft, and the security community overall, is to move to Windows 10. This migration / upgrade should be done before January 14, 2020 to prevent any scenarios where you experience issues requiring support, but Microsoft will no longer be available to help you.

Windows 10 Upgrade Reminder Notifications

Microsoft has begun Windows 10 Upgrade notifications for customer still running Windows 7. This notification is designed to let customers know that they should be upgrading to Windows 10 to remain secure and supported. The reminder includes a “learn more” button that will bring up more information on moving from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

You can also visit www.microsoft.com/windows7 to find out more information about upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7.

Before upgrading to Windows 10, be sure to double check that your existing software will work in Windows 10. Not all software built for Windows 7 will run properly on Windows 10. Also, some software vendors are not supporting their older software on Windows 10 either. If you have questions about the Windows 10 support for the various software you are running on Windows 7 today, you will want to reach out to the software vendor that makes and supports the software to get their latest recommendations on migrating to Windows 10.

Will Windows 7 Work after End of Life?

Yes, in short, Windows 7 will still work. The operating system will still boot, run, and let you use your software. However, without any future updates from Microsoft there will no longer be any bug fixes or security patches. The lack of future security patches is the most important piece to focus on when it comes to end of life, or end of support, for the Windows 7 operating system.

After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide support, including security patches for any potential vulnerabilities that remain in the Windows 7 operating system. This means that if hacker were to find a security vulnerability to exploit, there will be no protection against it in the form of pathing / fixing the issue.

While unsupported operating systems, such as Windows 7, will still run and function after the “End of Life” / “End of Support” date, it’s not recommended to continue to use the software after that date. If you must keep using Windows 7 after this date, then try to do with the computer disconnected from the Internet. Disconnecting from the Internet will reduce the risk of the compute from being compromised by hackers exploiting any remaining vulnerabilities in the software that will never be fixed.

If you must keep using Windows 7 after this date, then try to do with the computer disconnected from the Internet; as connecting online will expose the computer to potentially be compromised by hackers exploiting any remaining security vulnerabilities that will never be fixed.