Microsoft announces Extended Security Update program for Exchange 2016/2019

Microsoft has disclosed its Extended Security Update program for Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019. For a fee, businesses will receive six months of additional support.

Perhaps you remember, but in October 2024, Microsoft announced that, as of October 14th, 2025, it will no longer offer free support for Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019.

“Customer installations of Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019 will, of course, continue to run after October 14th, 2025. However, due to the upcoming end of support date and potential future security risks, we strongly recommend customers act now,” Scott Schnoll, Product Marketing Manager for Exchange Online and Exchange Server, wrote in a blog post at the time.

What he meant was that businesses and organizations should either migrate to Exchange Online or upgrade to Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE).

However, there’s a third option available: buying additional support for Exchange 2016 or Exchange 2019.

“Starting on August 1st, 2025, customers can contact their Microsoft account team to get information about and purchase an additional 6-month Extended Security Update (ESU) for their Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019 servers,” Microsoft says in a community blog post.

The costs of Microsoft’s Extended Security Update program depend on, among other things, the number of servers. Customers who contact their Microsoft account team will be notified after August 1st.

Microsoft states that it will only release updates when necessary, meaning that ESU customers will not necessarily receive security updates on Patch Tuesday, which is every second Tuesday of the month. The Redmond-based tech company emphasizes that if there is no reason to release security updates during the extended support period, no updates will be made available.

Microsoft’s Extended Security Update program will not be extended past April 14th, 2026. Microsoft has already stated that the extension is a one-time offer and that the company will not offer further extended support for Exchange 2016 or Exchange 2019.

“This program is intended only for customers who are unable to finalize their migrations to Exchange SE before the end of support lifecycle for Exchange 2016/2019, already use Exchange 2016 CU23 or Exchange 2019 CU14/CU15, and still need critical and important security coverage for the older servers still in operation,” Microsoft explains.

Customers are recommended to upgrade their organizations to Exchange SE in time.

Lastly, a similar program is available for our Skype for Business 2015/2019 customers.