Microsoft is planning to end support for various versions of Visual Studio including:
- Visual Studio 2012
- Visual Studio 2017
- Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7
- Visual Studio 2019 Preview Channel
Proposed dates for end of support (including Mainstream or all support) are as follows:
|
Version |
Support type |
End Date |
Support Type |
End Date |
|
Visual Studio 2012 |
Mainstream Support |
January 9 2018 |
Extended Support |
January 10 2023 |
|
Visual Studio 2017 |
Mainstream support |
April 12 2022 |
Extended Support |
13 April 2027 |
|
Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 |
Mainstream Support |
August 5 2020 |
Extended Support |
12 April 2022 |
|
Visual Studio 2019 Preview Channel |
Mainstream Support |
End of April |
Extended Support |
End of April 2022 |
|
Older versions of Visual Studio |
||||
|
Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 |
N/A |
April 2022 |
Extended Support |
April 2022 |
|
Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 including KB3165756 |
Mainstream support |
October 2020 |
Extended Support |
October 2025 |
|
Visual Studio 2013 Update 5 |
Mainstream Support |
April 2019 |
Extended Support |
April 2024 |
|
Visual Studio 2012 Update 5 |
Mainstream Support |
January 2018 |
Extended Support |
January 2023 |
|
Visual Studio 2010 and earlier |
Mainstream Support |
Out of Support |
Extended Support |
Out of Support |
The dates highlighted in red indicate expired dates.
Read: Visual Studio Code Extensions for Higher Productivity
What is Mainstream Support for Visual Studio?
Mainstream Support is the first phase of the product life cycle. This includes support for products and services for:
- Incident support which includes the following:
- No-charge incident support
- paid incident support
- Support charged on an hourly basis
- Support for warranty claims
- Security update support
- The ability to request non-security updates
What is Extended Support for Visual Studio?
Extended Support follows the Mainstream Support phase. Extended Support includes:
- Paid support
- Free Security updates
- Ability to request non-security fixes for select products
These Visual Studio versions include the following editions, for which the support also ends:
|
Version |
Editions |
|
Visual Studio 2012 |
Express for Web Express for Windows Desktop Premium Team Explorer Ultimstr |
|
Visual Studio 2017 |
Community Enterprise Professional Test Professional |
|
Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 |
Community Enterprise Professional |
|
Visual Studio 2019 Preview Channel |
|
These Visual Studio products follow the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. This policy applies to most commercial and some consumer products available through volume licensing or through retail purchase.
The Fixed Lifecycle Policy provides the following services:
- A clear outlined support and servicing life cycle timeline at the time of product launch.
- A minimum of five years Mainstream Support.
- An additional period of Extended Support for some products.
Read more developer tool reviews and tutorials.
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