Windows 10 LTSC 2021 End of Life: January 2027 Deadline, ESU Costs, and Migration Guide
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 reaches mainstream end-of-support on January 13, 2027, giving enterprises roughly five months of free security patches before transitioning to paid extended support. Unlike consumer editions that ended support in October 2025, the LTSC variant follows Microsoft's Fixed Lifecycle Policy, offering extended protection until approximately January 2032 at a cost starting at $61 per device in year one, which doubles annually. The biggest hurdle for many organizations is that legacy special-purpose devices like ATMs, medical systems, and industrial controllers often lack the TPM 2.0 and processor requirements needed to upgrade to the recommended successor, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC. IT leaders should immediately inventory their LTSC deployments to decide whether devices can be migrated to supported hardware or if they must commit to extended security updates to maintain compliance through 2032.
Windows 10 LTSC 2021 End of Life: January 2027 Deadline, ESU Costs, and Migration Guide
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 will reach its mainstream end-of-support on January 13, 2027, after which enterprises will need to pay for extended security updates. Unlike consumer editions that lost support in October 2025, the LTSC version follows a Fixed Lifecycle Policy, allowing extended support until approximately January 2032 at a cost that escalates significantly each year. Many organizations face challenges with legacy devices that may not meet the hardware requirements for upgrading to Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, such as TPM 2.0 and newer processors. IT leaders must assess their current deployments to determine whether they can migrate to supported hardware, purchase Extended Security Update licenses, or replace outdated devices completely
