Windows 7 and 8.1 Retirement Schedule

Prior releases of the Windows operating system are governed by the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. This policy comprises two phases: mainstream support and extended support. See Microsoft Fixed Policy Details for more details.

Client operating systems	End of mainstream support	End of extended support
Windows 8.1	January 9, 2018	January 10, 2023
Windows 7, service pack 1*	January 13, 2015	January 14, 2020

Prior versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, have limited support when running on new processors and chipsets from manufacturers like Intel, AMD, NVidia, and Qualcomm. For more information, see the Microsoft Lifecycle FAQ. A device may not be able to run prior versions of Windows if the device hardware is incompatible, lacks current drivers, or is otherwise outside the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) support period.