Key MS End of Life dates
📆 SharePoint, Workflow & Support Milestones (As of July 2025)
| Feature / Platform | End of Mainstream Support | End of Extended Support | Notes / Customer Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SharePoint Server 2013 | Apr 10, 2018 | Apr 11, 2026 ✅ | ⚠️ After 2026, no security updates. SQL/Windows compatibility breaks. Migrate ASAP. |
| SharePoint Server 2016 | Jul 13, 2021 | Jul 14, 2026 | ⚠️ Aging UI. Limited hybrid features. Workflow engine deprecated. |
| SharePoint Server 2019 | Jan 9, 2024 | Jul 14, 2026 | Still “modern UI-capable” but no future versions planned. |
| SharePoint Subscription Edition (SE) | N/A | N/A | This is the only on-prem version with updates post-2026. Requires Software Assurance. |
| SharePoint Designer 2013 (SPD Workflows) | Support ended: Jul 14, 2026 | Deprecated in SPO already | 🚫 No support for 2010/2013 workflows in SPO. Must convert to Power Automate or custom logic. |
| Workflow 2010 in SPO | Disabled Aug 1, 2020 | Fully removed Nov 1, 2020 | Gone. Period. Migrate to Power Automate or retire. |
| Workflow 2013 in SPO | Deprecated Aug 2020 | Removed for new tenants Nov 2020 | No new workflows. Legacy ones may fail over time. |
| Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 | Oct 2023 | No longer supported | 🚫 Cannot host SP2016/2019 securely past 2023 |
| SQL Server 2012 | Jul 2022 | Out of support | 🚫 Blocks SP farms from patching. |
| SQL Server 2014 | Jul 2024 | Jul 2029 (ESU) | Must upgrade for future-proofing SharePoint |
| Office 365 ProPlus (legacy) | Phased out | Migrated to Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft 365 is the only supported path. |
🔁 Upgrade Path Limitations (On-Prem)
| From | To | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| SP2013 → SP2016 | ✅ Supported (database attach) | |
| SP2016 → SP2019 | ✅ Supported | |
| SP2013 → SP2019 | ❌ Not supported directly — must hop through SP2016 | |
| SP2013 → SP SE | ❌ Not supported directly — must go through 2016 → 2019 → SE | |
| Classic → Modern UI | ❌ Not automatic — manual site redesign + rebuild |
🧨 Other Important Deprecations
| Feature | Status | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox solutions | Deprecated long ago, blocked in SPO | Must rewrite as SPFx |
| Classic UI features (master pages, JSLink, custom branding) | Not supported in modern | Migrate to SPFx & modern theming |
| Public Website (SharePoint Online) | Removed in 2017 | Use Wix, WordPress, or another CMS |
| InfoPath | Deprecated | Migrate to Power Apps or other forms solutions |
| Access Web Apps | Removed from SPO 2018 | No direct replacement |
💥 What It Means to the Customer
- Security Risk: Unsupported SP/SQL/Windows versions are unpatchable — open to ransomware & data loss.
- Licensing Cost Spike: Extended support = higher costs. Many clients pay 2–3× more for “security only” updates if they delay.
- Migration Bottlenecks: There are only 200–300 expert consultants in North America who do this well. Delays increase costs.
- Compliance Risk: Failure to migrate = HIPAA, SOX, GLBA, etc. violations. Especially for banks, government, healthcare.
- Skill Shortage: Staff trained on SP2013 are retiring or gone. It’s harder to find in-house support.
🔢 Countdown Messaging Examples
- “Only 185 workdays left until SharePoint 2013 is unsupported.”
- “That’s less than 7 months of real working time to complete your migration.”
- “After that, you’ll pay triple for support—or worse, risk going dark.”
SharePoint 2019
✅ What Still Works After July 14, 2026:
- Your classic SharePoint UI (e.g., custom master pages, JSLink, classic lists and libraries)
- Server-side code (e.g., full-trust farm solutions, timer jobs, custom web parts)
- On-prem hosting of SP2019 with custom features
- Existing intranets and portals built using classic UX
⚠️ What You’ll Lose (or Risk):
| Area | Risk / Impact |
|---|---|
| 🛡️ Security Updates | 🚫 None after July 14, 2026. You’re on your own for vulnerabilities. |
| 💰 Support from Microsoft | Only via paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) (if even available). Most clients skip this. |
| 🔄 Compatibility | SQL/Windows upgrades may break things. For example, SP2019 may not work on Windows Server 2025+. |
| 🧑💼 Staffing | Fewer engineers will be trained on classic UX, SPD workflows, or SP2019 APIs. |
| 🧱 Modernization Path | No new “modern” features — SPFx and M365 innovation will continue leaving SP2019 behind. |
Bottom Line:
- Yes, you can continue running SP2019 with classic customizations after support ends, just like people still run SP2010 today.
- But you’ll be in a technical debt situation: no updates, increasing breakage risk, costly to maintain, and harder to staff.
- If you support clients still on SP2019 after 2026, frame it as “legacy support or sunset mode”, and encourage roadmap planning to:
- Migrate to SharePoint Online
- Or move to SharePoint Subscription Edition (SE) if they must stay on-prem.
✅ SharePoint Server 2019 Support Timeline:
| Phase | End Date | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Mainstream Support | Jan 9, 2024 | Feature updates, bug fixes, security patches, non-security fixes |
| Extended Support | July 14, 2026 | Security updates only — no new features or non-security fixes |
So, what happens after January 9, 2024?
You are now in extended support, which means:
- ✅ Security updates still continue through July 14, 2026
- 🚫 No more feature updates, including for classic UX or modern UX
- 🚫 No bug fixes for non-security issues
- 🚫 No support for new OS/SQL combinations unless explicitly stated
🔍 Classic UX Specifically:
- Classic UX is not “turned off” — it’s still supported and functional.
- But you won’t get UX improvements, and there will be no fixes for layout bugs, responsive issues, IE/Edge quirks, etc.
After July 14, 2026:
- You get no security updates unless Microsoft releases a paid ESU program, which is rare for SharePoint.
- Classic UX will still work, but it will now be officially “unsupported,” which could be a security risk for regulated industries.
Last Classic bug fixes
SharePoint Online (SPO)
- Microsoft stopped actively improving Classic UX in SPO around 2019–2020, shifting nearly all UI investment to the Modern Experience.
- Classic UX still functions but receives no design updates and only critical fixes (very rare and often unlisted).
SharePoint Server 2016
- Mainstream support ended July 13, 2021.
- That would be the last point when non-security bug fixes, including classic UX bugs, were officially provided.
SharePoint Server 2019
- Mainstream support ended January 9, 2024.
- Likely the last possible window for any Classic UX bug fix at the product level.
- Even during its mainstream window, the focus was clearly on Modern UX, with little to no UX changes issued for Classic in CU release notes.
🔍 Example Evidence
Reviewing CU (Cumulative Update) release notes from:
- SharePoint Server 2019: no classic UX changes mentioned in the last ~2 years of CUs.
- SharePoint Server 2016: classic UX changes disappear from patch notes as early as ~2019.
Microsoft’s general guidance during this time was:
“Classic experience remains supported but will not receive new features.”
💡 TL;DR
The last known classic UX bug fixes across any SharePoint SKU were likely:
- 🟠 2019 in SharePoint Online (rare cases)
- 🟢 Pre-2024 in SharePoint Server 2019 (but undocumented and minimal)
- 🔴 None expected post-Jan 2024 (Mainstream end)
If you’re building client messaging or timelines, consider classic UX frozen since 2019, with only critical hotfixes applied during mainstream support windows — and nothing now during extended support.
Dont go unsupported-
📊 How to Quantify the Risk
| 🔍 Risk Area | Unsupported Software Impact |
|---|---|
| 🔐 Security | No new patches means known vulnerabilities can be exploited. |
| 💸 Cost | Custom support agreements from Microsoft can cost hundreds of thousands annually. |
| 🧯 Compliance | Violates HIPAA, SOC2, ISO 27001, etc. — can cause fines. |
| ⚙️ Integration | New tools (Teams, Power Automate, OneDrive sync) stop working with old versions. |
| ⏳ Downtime | Recovery from a breach is 10x more expensive than preemptive upgrade. |
| 🧠 Skill gap | Finding admins who still know 2010/2013/2016 is harder each year. |
| 💼 Loss of clients | Clients may refuse to work with orgs running outdated tech. |
🎯 Framing It to Clients or Execs:
“If a system isn’t supported by Microsoft, you’re the one responsible when it breaks — not them. Every day you delay is a gamble that no hacker, bug, or compliance audit will hit.”
1. WannaCry Ransomware (2017)
- What happened: Over 230,000 computers in 150+ countries were infected, including NHS hospitals in the UK.
- Root cause: Exploited a vulnerability in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
- Why it spread: These operating systems were no longer supported, and critical patches weren’t available unless you paid Microsoft for custom support.
- Cost: Over $4 billion in damages worldwide, with major public service interruptions.