Microsoft ,tries to remind us that it may be time to upgrade our devices to the latest version of its operating system: Windows 10. For users of older versions like Windows 7, Microsoft Answers is an official place where they can find solutions to their problems.
The most recent move by Microsoft was the announcement that the team actively participating in Microsoft Answers will no longer provide support and assistance for the following products across the various forums, starting from next month.
- Windows 7, 8.1, 8.1 RT
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Internet Explorer 10
- Office 2010, 2013
- Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface RT, Surface 2
- Microsoft Band – this section will be locked. Users can participate in Band 2.
- Forum for portable devices – Microsoft support will continue in “Other Windows mobile devices”
- Zune – this section will be locked, but will remain available for browsing
Both Windows 7 and 8.1 are already out of mainstream support and do not receive feature updates. Now, for Windows 7 users, the only thing left is almost one and a half years of extended support for the updated security code releases, which will expire on January 14, 2020. For Windows 8.1, extended support will end on January 10, 2023.
However, the end of these forums has not come. Support forums will continue to exist and will be subject to continuous monitoring by Microsoft agents. However, there will be no “preventive revisions, monitoring, answering or flagging of questions”, Microsoft said.
People can fix their problems by getting answers from other users. Also, there is always the option for paid support from Microsoft until the extended support expires.
