Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 end of life and end of support
Security fixes for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 ended on 10 October 2023. The paid Extended Security Updates programme ends on 13 October 2026, and after that date there is nothing more to buy.
Status on 3 October 2026
- Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
- Support ended
- Security fixes
- Ended 10 October 2023
- Released
- 30 October 2012
- Mainstream support ended
- 9 October 20182,916 days ago
- Security fixes ended
- 10 October 20231,089 days ago
- Paid extension ends
- 13 October 202610 days from today
Dates come from the Microsoft product lifecycle; check there before relying on them for a decision.
What ends, and what carries on
Free security fixes for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 ended on 10 October 2023. The only fixes since have come through Extended Security Updates, a paid programme that ends on 13 October 2026. After that date there is no fix available at any price.
The server carries on working. But current database, backup and security products have stopped supporting it, and auditors and insurers ask about it directly.
This is the most urgent of the Windows Server dates.
What it means for the applications on the server
An application still on this server is usually old in several ways at once.
- .NET Framework 4.5 to 4.6.1. Applications of this age often target these versions, and they are out of support themselves: 4.5 and 4.5.1 since 12 January 2016, and 4.5.2, 4.6 and 4.6.1 since 26 April 2022. The application needs moving to 4.8, which is usually a small change. Our .NET Framework page covers it.
- Classic ASP. It still runs on current versions of IIS once the feature is enabled, but the pages tend to depend on components and database drivers that have to be installed separately.
- COM components. Often 32-bit, registered by hand years ago, sometimes with no installer and no source code. Each one has to be found, copied, registered and tested on the new server, or replaced.
- The database. A SQL Server installed at the same time is likely to be SQL Server 2012 or 2014, both out of support. See the SQL Server dates.
So the job is seldom a server move alone. The operating system, the framework and the database have aged together and usually have to move together.
Your options
Move to a supported version. Windows Server 2022 receives security fixes until 14 October 2031 and Windows Server 2025 until 14 November 2034. We would build a new server and migrate the application to it, upgrading the framework and the database in the same piece of work.
Modernise as you move. If the application leans on classic ASP or on components nobody can rebuild, the move is the moment to decide whether to carry them across or replace them. Our legacy software modernisation page covers that choice.
Extended Security Updates. These end on 13 October 2026 with no further period to buy, so they cannot put the move off beyond that date.
Isolate the server while the move is under way. Restricting who and what can reach it reduces the exposure but does not remove it.
What we would check first
For an application of this age, the first question is whether the source code exists, builds, and matches what is running.
Then we would list what the server does: sites, services, scheduled tasks, registered components, certificates and inbound connections. Finally we would install the application on a test server running a supported version and run it against a copy of the data.
Get a reminder
Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 stops receiving paid extended security updates on 13 October 2026. Put the date where you will see it.
Add a reminder to your calendarNot sure where Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 is still running?
Most organisations find more copies than they expected. Two ways to find out, depending on how much you want to know.
Check which version you have
Standard, Datacenter and Essentials editions share the same dates. So do servers installed with and without the desktop.
How to check every productOn the server, run winver, or this PowerShell command. The build number identifies the release.
(Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem) | Select-Object Caption, BuildNumber| Build number | Product |
|---|---|
| 9200 | Windows Server 2012 |
| 9600 | Windows Server 2012 R2 |
| 14393 | Windows Server 2016 |
| 17763 | Windows Server 2019 |
| 20348 | Windows Server 2022 |
| 26100 | Windows Server 2025 |
When it is not yours to upgrade
A server is often kept on an old version of Windows because of one thing running on it: a packaged application its vendor only certifies on that version, a hardware controller with an old driver, or a licence dongle.
List what each server runs before planning its upgrade, and ask each vendor in writing which Windows Server versions their product supports. Where the answer is none of the current ones, the choice is between replacing that product and isolating the old server from the rest of the network.
Making the case for the work
An upgrade nobody outside IT can see is easy to defer. These are the reasons that tend to move it up the list.
- Cyber Essentials
- The scheme requires software in scope to be supported by its vendor. Anything past its end-of-support date has to be removed, or cut off from the internet, before you can certify or renew.
- Cyber insurance
- Proposal forms commonly ask whether you run unsupported software. Check what yours asked, and what you answered.
- Customer questionnaires
- Larger customers ask the same question of their suppliers. An honest "yes, and here is the plan" is a better answer than a late discovery.
- Personal data
- UK data protection law expects appropriate technical measures to protect personal data. Software that can no longer be patched is hard to square with that.
- The cost of waiting
- An upgrade done to a deadline, after something has failed, costs more than the same upgrade planned. Where Microsoft sells a paid security extension, its price has risen each year it runs.
- Official guidance
- The National Cyber Security Centre is blunt: "The only fully effective way to mitigate this risk is to stop using the obsolete product." See its guidance on obsolete products.
What we do and do not sell: we do not sell Microsoft licences or Extended Security Updates, so we have no stake in which version you choose. Our part is the application: finding what depends on the old version, testing it against the new one and fixing what breaks.
Supported versions to move to
How long each would keep you in support. All Windows Server versions
| Version | Released | Mainstream support ended | Security fixes end | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2022 | 18 August 2021 | 13 October 2026 | 14 October 2031 | Supported |
| Windows Server 2025 | 1 November 2024 | 13 November 2029 | 14 November 2034 | Supported |
Questions we are asked
When does Windows Server 2012 R2 reach end of life?
It already has. Extended support for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 ended on 10 October 2023. The paid Extended Security Updates programme, the last source of fixes, ends on 13 October 2026.
Will Windows Server 2012 R2 stop working after October 2026?
No. The server keeps running. From 13 October 2026 it receives no security fixes of any kind, free or paid, so every vulnerability found from then on stays open.
Is there extended support for Windows Server 2012 R2?
Only until 13 October 2026. That is the last day of the paid Extended Security Updates programme, and Microsoft offers nothing to buy beyond it.
Can an old application move from Windows Server 2012 R2 to a current version?
Usually, yes, but rarely without changes. Applications of this age tend to depend on an old .NET Framework version, classic ASP or COM components, and each has to be checked, reinstalled or replaced on the new server. A rehearsal on a test server shows what breaks.
Does classic ASP still run on a current Windows Server?
Yes. Classic ASP is still available in IIS as an optional component that has to be switched on. The COM components and database drivers that classic ASP pages call are the more common cause of trouble.
Still running Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2?
Tell us which version, what depends on it and how it is hosted. We will set out the upgrade route and what it is likely to involve.