Microsoft extends support for Skylake processors Windows 7 and 8.1

Microsoft has decided to extend limited support for Skylake processors under Windows 7 and 8.1. The support policy has been adjusted to give users with older operating systems an extra year to upgrade to Windows 10.

Microsoft indicates that the new support end date for Windows 7 and 8.1 is now July 17, 2018. The company says it made this change in response to feedback from business customers who are in various stages of Windows 10 rollout. Security updates for both systems will also be released for Skylake configurations until the end of extended support. For Windows 7, it’s January 14, 2020, and for Windows 8.1, it’s January 10, 2023.

Microsoft announced in January that business customers with Skylake systems must move to Windows 10 from July 17, 2017 in order to receive support from Microsoft itself. For business customers with AMD processors, this concerns CPUs from the Bristol Ridge series. As it turns out, this has hit a number of business customers the wrong way. The changes to the policy are included in the updated support policy.

The company says the changes should allow customers to purchase modern hardware while they are migrating to Windows 10.