Windows 10 LTSC expires in 2027+2032 (what you can do)

Since XP, more and more different versions of Windows have been released. In addition to 32-bit and 64-bit versions, at its launch, Windows 10 was released in seven different editions, from “Home” to “Enterprise”. But all of them face the same challenges. the end of October support.

However, there are other versions aimed at business users that will continue to be supported. They are called Windows Enterprise Long Term Servicing Channel ( LTSC ).

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Currently, there are four LTSC versions of Windows 10. There is also one of Windows 11. But we said you want to avoid 11. Then the most recent version is Windows 10 LTSC 2021, a long-term support version of Windows 10 21H2, which was released in November 2021.

LTSC 2021 is available in the plain vanilla version, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021, with a scheduled end of mainstream support on January 12, 2027, while the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 version has an end date of January 13, 2032.

They are not exactly the same as the regular consumer versions of Windows 10.

They don't include the Windows Store or any "modern" apps. Aside from the Edge browser, they have almost nothing else: no OneDrive, no Weather or Contacts apps, no Windows Mail or whatever else Microsoft is calling it this week.

To me personally, all of these sound like advantages, although you may disagree. This particular version includes Windows Defender antivirus and classic accessories like Notepad and Wordpad.

During installation, they try to log in to a corporate Windows account, but once that fails, they offer the option to create a local account.

Once installed, you can install the updates and then reboot.

The first thing you need to do is check your activation status. Since LTSC versions are Enterprise editions, a Home or Pro edition key is not enough. You will need a corporate product key to activate Windows (there are of course workarounds available for this).

If you don't have access to a key, you can purchase a Volume License Agreement for five computers. Some vendors may be willing to negotiate licenses for a single computer.

You should know that there isn’t much of a visible difference between the two versions. Despite its name, the “IoT” version is a fully localized version of Windows. The main difference that struck us was that the IoT version only offered US English as the system language, although we could choose another keyboard layout. The simple LTSC version offers 38 different language versions.

The main difference with LTSC releases is that they don't get version upgrades to the operating system. You'll get version 21H2, build 19044, and that's it – forever.

To upgrade to a newer version of Windows, you will need to reinstall the operating system and all your applications.

But since there won't be any more versions of Windows 10 after 2025 – 22H2 will be the last.

You won't find the LTSC versions on Microsoft's regular download page. If you want to try it out, there are Enterprise ISO trial files . Once you have an Enterprise license, you can log in to the Microsoft portal and download them that way.

The easiest way is probably from the cheerfully named MASsgrave site. It has the LTSC ISO files for all regions and for the IoT versions, and you can check the MD5SUMs.

The page includes tools to activate the Enterprise edition on any hardware, but using these tools violates Microsoft's licensing terms and applicable laws.

iGuRu.gr does not recommend the use of the site

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