Windows Server 2016 end of life and end of support
Extended support for Windows Server 2016 ends on 12 January 2027. After that date Microsoft issues no more security fixes unless you pay for Extended Security Updates.
Status on 3 October 2026
- Windows Server 2016
- Ending within a year
- Security fixes
- Ends 12 January 2027, in 101 days
- Released
- 15 October 2016
- Mainstream support ended
- 11 January 20221,726 days ago
- Security fixes end
- 12 January 2027101 days from today
- Paid extension ends
- 12 January 20301,197 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
On the end date Microsoft stops releasing security updates, bug fixes and technical support for Windows Server 2016. Nothing switches off. Websites keep serving, databases keep answering and scheduled jobs keep running, which is why the date tends to pass without anyone noticing.
The change is in what happens next. Each new vulnerability found in the operating system is published, fixed for newer versions and left open on yours. Over time other things stop arriving too: newer versions of SQL Server, backup agents, monitoring tools and security software drop support for an operating system their vendors no longer test against.
What it means for the applications on the server
For a business system, the server is rarely the hard part. The work is in whatever runs on it.
- The application’s framework. Windows Server 2016 shipped with .NET Framework 4.6.2, which goes out of support on the same day. An application still targeting it needs moving to 4.8 before or during the server move.
- Things installed by hand. Older applications often depend on components registered on the server years ago: COM libraries, reporting runtimes, a specific database driver, fonts, certificates. These are not in the source code and have to be found and reinstalled.
- IIS settings. Application pool identities, bindings, authentication modes and rewrite rules live in the server’s configuration, and an application can fail on a new server simply because one was missed.
- Scheduled tasks and services. Overnight imports, report emails and clean-up jobs frequently run as Windows scheduled tasks under a named account that nobody has logged into for years.
- What connects to it. Other systems, file shares and firewall rules refer to the old server by name or address.
None of this is difficult once it is written down. It is the discovery that takes the time, and it is far easier done months ahead than in the week before the deadline.
Your options
Move to a supported version. The lasting fix. Windows Server 2022 and 2025 are both supported into the 2030s. A move is also the natural moment to bring the database and the application’s framework up to date, since everything is being tested anyway.
Move to the cloud at the same time. If the server is physical hardware of the same age, replacing it like for like means buying new hardware. Our cloud migration page describes how we rehearse a move so that the cut-over is routine.
Buy Extended Security Updates. A paid stopgap that keeps security fixes coming for a limited period. Reasonable if an application cannot move in time, as long as the time bought is used to move it.
Isolate and accept the risk. For a system with a short remaining life, restricting who and what can reach the server reduces the exposure. It does not remove it, and an auditor or insurer may not accept it.
What we would check first
We would start with an inventory of what the server actually does: every site, service, scheduled task, installed component and inbound connection. Then we would build a test server on a supported version, install the application and run it against a copy of the data. Whatever breaks in that rehearsal is the real list of work.
If nobody is sure what depends on the server, a code audit produces that inventory and a plan at a fixed price. If the application itself is on an old framework, our .NET Framework page covers the options.
Get a reminder
Windows Server 2016 stops receiving security fixes on 12 January 2027. Put the date where you will see it.
Add a reminder to your calendarNot sure where Windows Server 2016 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 2016 reach end of life?
Extended support ends on 12 January 2027. Mainstream support ended on 11 January 2022, so the server has received security fixes only since then.
Will Windows Server 2016 stop working after January 2027?
No. The server and everything on it carry on running. What stops is the monthly security fixes, so each vulnerability found after that date stays open on your server.
Is there extended support for Windows Server 2016 after 2027?
Yes. Microsoft offers paid Extended Security Updates, which run for up to three further years, to January 2030. They cover security fixes only and are intended to give you time to move, not to avoid moving.
Can Windows Server 2016 be upgraded in place?
Microsoft supports upgrading Windows Server 2016 in place to a later version. Many teams still prefer to build a new server and move the application across, because it leaves the old server untouched as a fallback until the new one has proved itself.
Does .NET Framework on Windows Server 2016 go out of support too?
.NET Framework 4.6.2, the version that shipped with Windows Server 2016, goes out of support on the same day, 12 January 2027. Applications still targeting 4.6.2 should be moved to .NET Framework 4.8, which is usually a small change.
Running a version that is out of support?
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.