Windows Server 2022 left mainstream support on 13 October 2026. Monthly security updates continue at no extra cost through 14 October 2031. Non-security fixes stop now.
What happened
Microsoft's Windows release health page says the October 2026 security update is the last mainstream update for this version. The product has moved into extended support. The formal lifecycle table lists mainstream end as 14 October 2026 at 06:59 PT, and extended support ending 15 October 2031. Datacenter, Datacenter: Azure Edition, Essentials, and Standard are covered, and containers shipped with Server 2022 follow the same dates.
Hotpatch support on Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition is extended through October 2027. Those enrolled hosts keep receiving monthly security updates without a restart. Microsoft points customers that want full mainstream support at Windows Server 2025.
Who is affected
Any organisation still running Windows Server 2022 as a file, application, or remote-desktop host is on the clock. Security patches continue. Design changes, new features, and non-security bug fixes do not.
- Windows Server 2022 Datacenter, Standard, and Essentials
- Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition, including hotpatch hosts
- Containers released with Windows Server 2022
What to do now
Inventory every Windows Server 2022 host and put a Windows Server 2025 move on the roadmap. Do not treat extended support as a reason to stop patching.
- Confirm the October 2026 security update is installed. Microsoft names KB5126655 as that month's security update on the release health page.
- List which roles each host runs, and which applications or RDS farms depend on it.
- If you use Datacenter: Azure Edition hotpatch, note that the no-restart path is extended only through October 2027.
- Plan the upgrade to Windows Server 2025 before you need a non-security fix Microsoft will no longer ship.
What this means for South African businesses
Most small and mid-size South African sites still have at least one Server 2022 box, often the file server or the remote-desktop host the bookkeeper uses. The immediate risk is not a missing patch. It is a production fault Microsoft will no longer fix outside the security channel, which is how a quiet server becomes a weekend outage. Treat the next five years of security updates as a migration window, not a reason to leave the host in place.
Source: Microsoft Windows release health, Windows Server 2022.