According to TheRegister.com, Microsoft accidentally told Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 and IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 users their systems reached “end of support” despite having active licenses through January 12, 2027 and January 13, 2032 respectively. The bug appeared after the October 14 update and affected devices running Windows 10 22H2 Pro, Education, or Enterprise enrolled in Extended Security Updates. Microsoft confirmed the problem weeks after sysadmins started complaining on forums like Reddit where one user called it a “sick joke.” The company says affected devices continue receiving security updates despite the warning message. Administrators can fix the issue using Known Issue Rollback and device restarts. Microsoft is working on a permanent solution for a future Windows update.
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<h2 id="microsofts-support-mess”>When your paid support isn’t supported
Here’s the thing that really stings about this mess. These aren’t your average home users running outdated Windows 10 Home editions. We’re talking about Enterprise LTSC customers who specifically pay for long-term, stable support cycles. LTSC stands for Long-Term Servicing Channel, and organizations choose it specifically to avoid exactly this kind of nonsense. They’re the customers who actually read Microsoft‘s product lifecycle documentation and plan their IT strategies around those dates.
So how does Microsoft accidentally tell their most reliable, planning-focused enterprise customers that their supported systems are suddenly unsupported? The timing is particularly suspicious coming right after Microsoft ended free updates for regular Windows 10 versions. It feels like someone at Redmond got a bit overzealous with the “upgrade to Windows 11” messaging.
The fix requires manual work
Now here’s where it gets really frustrating for system administrators. Microsoft’s solution involves Known Issue Rollback and Group Policy adjustments. Basically, IT teams who thought they were paying for hassle-free long-term support now have to manually clean up Microsoft’s mess. And let’s be honest – how many smaller organizations without dedicated IT staff are going to know how to apply these fixes?
Think about the panic this caused. Users seeing “Your version of Windows has reached the end of support” messages probably started flooding help desks. The Register even tried asking Microsoft’s Copilot for help identifying supported Windows versions and got “nonsensical” code in return. Not exactly confidence-inspiring when you’re dealing with enterprise security.
What this says about Microsoft’s priorities
This incident reveals something important about where Microsoft’s head is at these days. They’re so focused on pushing everyone to Windows 11 and their AI-powered future that they’re letting basic quality control slip for their existing enterprise customers. When you can’t even get simple support messaging right for your most stable, long-term products, what does that say about your development process?
I’ve got to wonder – is this just sloppy coding, or is there some underlying pressure to make Windows 10 look less appealing? Either way, it’s not a great look when companies paying for extended support have to troubleshoot Microsoft’s mistakes. The good news is they’re working on a permanent fix. But the damage to trust? That might take longer to repair.
