Microsoft to end Windows 10 Mobile updates and support in December

Microsoft is planning to end support for Windows 10 Mobile devices in December. While Microsoft revealed back in 2017 that the company was no longer developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile, security and software updates have continued. These security updates will now cease on December 10th 2019, and devices will be unsupported after this date. “Windows 10 Mobile, version 1709 (released October 2017) is the last release of Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft will end support on December 10, 2019,” reads a Microsoft support note that was updated this week.

Microsoft is now recommending that Windows 10 Mobile users move to iOS or Android devices. “With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device,” explains a FAQ on Windows 10 Mobile end of life. After Microsoft pulls support in December, device backups for settings and some apps will continue for three months until March 10th, 2020. Microsoft notes “some services including photo uploads and restoring a device from an existing device backup may continue to work for up to another 12 months from end of support.”

Microsoft previously ended Windows Phone 8.1 support on July 11th 2017, so the end of Windows 10 Mobile support is not unexpected. Microsoft is now focusing its mobile efforts on building apps and services for iOS and Android devices. The software giant has embraced Android as the mobile version of Windows, with an Android launcher and upcoming app mirroring support. Existing Windows 10 Mobile users will now have to choose between iOS and Android for their smartphone needs.