As has been known for a long time, after January 2020, Microsoft will stop releasing free security for Windows 7.However, it is allowing businesses to continue receiving some updates after that date. Microsoft offers an option for business licensees of its operating system. This option is not very well known but allows users to receive updates for a certain period of time after the deadline.
Microsoft customers who will be eligible for this offer are those with Enterprise Agreement (EA) and Enterprise Subscription Agreement (EAS) with active subscriptions to Windows 10 E5, Microsoft 365 E5, and Microsoft 365 E5 Security . These customers can use one additional year of Windows 7 security updates at no additional charge . This offer runs from June 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019 .
Microsoft announced its plans to end free updates a long time ago. Last September, it said that businesses would be able to use Windows 7 until January 2023, for a fee. The final end date (for free updates) will be January 14, 2020.
At the time, Microsoft said that Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESUs) would be sold on a per-device basis and the price would increase each year. These updates would be available to all Windows 7 professional and enterprise users with licensing agreements.
Office 365 ProPlus will continue to be able to run on devices with updates until January 2023.
Additionally, Microsoft plans to offer these updates free of charge to Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) customers for three years. The cost is included in the WVD licensing fees
Microsoft is allowing users to use updates after the deadline, but the updates will not be cost-effective. For Windows Enterprise and Microsoft 365 users, Microsoft will provide the updates as add-ons. As we said above, each year the price will increase. For the first year, the add-on will cost $25 per device. In the second year, the cost will double ($50 per device), and in the third year it will reach $100 per device. For Windows 7 Pro users, the cost will be $50 for the first year, $100 for the second, and $200 for the third year.
If you want to know more details about extra security updates, you can read this document.
