Microsoft: Windows 10 2004 reaches end of service in December

Microsoft has reminded customers today that Windows 10 2004 (all editions) and Windows Server 2004 (Datacenter, Standard editions) will reach the end of servicing on December 14, 2021.

"These editions will no longer receive security updates after December 14, 2021," Microsoft announced [1, 2] today. "Customers who contact Microsoft Support after this date will be directed to update their device to the latest version of Windows 10 to remain supported."

Devices running Windows 10 editions that reach EoS will no longer receive technical support or monthly bug and security fixes.

Besides advising users of EoS products to upgrade as soon as possible to the latest available versions, Redmond also automatically rolls out feature updates to some out-of-date devices reaching EoS.

"Windows Update will automatically initiate a feature update for Windows 10 consumer devices and non-managed business devices that are at, or within several months of reaching end of servicing," Microsoft explained in the past.

"For these devices, you can choose a convenient time for your device to reboot and complete the update."

Windows 10 21H1 feature update

Microsoft advises customers still running Windows 10 2004 to install the May 2021 Update that will upgrade their devices to Windows 10, version 21H1, which will reach the end of service next year, on December 13, for all editions.

Redmond started auto-updating Windows 10 2004 devices to Windows 10 21H1 on June 5 and announced they have begun auto-upgrading a larger number of Windows 10 devices nearing the end of life to Windows 10 21H1 on June 22.

"We are now starting a new phase in our rollout. Using the machine learning training we have done so far, we are increasing the number of devices selected to update automatically to Windows 10, version 21H1 that are approaching end of servicing," Microsoft explained on the Windows 10 21H1 health status page.

With Windows 10 2004 reaching its end of life in three months, more devices running this Windows 10 version will automatically be upgraded to the latest version.

Windows 10 21H1 is currently available to all users with devices running Windows 10, version 20H2 and Windows 10, version 2004, who manually seek to Check for updates using Windows Update.

The Windows 10 21H1 feature update is also available for quick deployment using the Media Creation Tool or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

If you don't yet want to upgrade to Windows 10 21H1, you can defer the feature update using the 'Select when Preview Builds and Feature Updates are received' group policy you can find under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business.