Operating System Life-Cycle

This article outlines what operating systems are currently supported as well as the lifecycle of those operating systems as defined by their manufacturer.

Microsoft Windows:

In order to meet the security requirements of the University, only Operating System releases that are currently being maintained by Microsoft are supported. This generally means that the operating system is still receiving security patches that are provided through Windows Update.

Microsoft Currently Supports:

• Windows 10
• Windows 8.1

Microsoft no longer supports:

• Windows 7
• Windows XP

For more information, Microsoft provides more detail about lifecyling: https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet

Windows 10

Microsoft breaks Windows 10 down into releases that have 18 months of support from their release date. Fortunately, Windows 10 can be upgraded to newer releases using Windows Update. IT Services manage these updates to ensure new Windows 10 releases are not pushed before they have been tested.

Windows 7

While Windows 7 is now past end-of-life, Microsoft offers paid extended support to a maximum of January 10, 2023. In most cases, your machine will just be upgraded to Windows 10 but in special cercumstances, the Extended Support option can be purchsed. For more information about Windows 7 Extended support - https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/4527878/faq-about-extended-security-updates-for-windows-7

If Windows 7 is required for your device, please submit a ticket to IT Services and we can review and make appropriate recommendations for you - https://helpdesk.ok.ubc.ca

Apple MacOS:

While Apple does not have an official lifecycling process published, the general consensus from the Apple community is the current release plus two previous releases. Apple does publish their security patch history which does provide information on the last security patch for any given release - https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201222

MacOS does yearly releases and offer them as a free upgrade to Mac owners. IT Services currently block new releases to ensure new releases will work without issue in our environment. When an upgrade is attempted, you will be notified to check with IT Services first to ensure a smooth upgrade process.