Cisco Catalyst 3650 End of Life: Last Date of Support October 31, 2026
Cisco support for the Catalyst 3650 Series Switches ends on October 31, 2026. That is the Last Date of Support in Cisco's End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement EOL14617, and Cisco's notice gives the same day for End of Vulnerability/Security Support. After it, in Cisco's words, all support services for the product are unavailable and the product becomes obsolete. The switch left sale on October 31, 2021, and routine software maintenance releases ended a year after that, so for four years the only software fixes Cisco committed to were security remedies. Those stop on the same day. Live status and EOL Risk Score are on the Catalyst 3650 page; every Catalyst model we track is on the Cisco Catalyst switches page.
Key Dates at a Glance
- Cisco Catalyst switches Catalyst 2960-X: End-of-Sale 2022-10-31; Last Date of Support 2027-10-31
- Cisco Catalyst switches Catalyst 3650: End-of-Sale 2021-10-31; Last Date of Support 2026-10-31
- Cisco Catalyst switches Catalyst 3850: End-of-Sale 2020-10-30; Last Date of Support 2025-10-31
Every milestone in EOL14617
Cisco's notice (marked EOL14617, Amended) prints nine milestones in its Table 1. All are hardware milestones; the dates below are copied from it.
| Cisco milestone | Date | What it meant, in Cisco's words |
|---|---|---|
| End-of-Life Announcement Date | October 31, 2020 | The date the document announcing the end of sale and end of life was distributed to the general public. |
| End-of-Sale Date | October 31, 2021 | The last date to order the product through Cisco point-of-sale mechanisms. |
| Last Ship Date | January 30, 2022 | The last possible ship date that could be requested of Cisco and its contract manufacturers. |
| End of SW Maintenance Releases Date | October 31, 2022 | The last date Cisco Engineering may release final software maintenance releases or bug fixes; after it, Cisco no longer develops, repairs, maintains or tests the product software. |
| End of Vulnerability/Security Support | October 31, 2026 | The last date Cisco Engineering may release a planned maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability. |
| End of Routine Failure Analysis Date | October 31, 2022 | The last possible date for a routine failure analysis of a hardware failure or defect. |
| End of New Service Attachment Date | October 31, 2022 | For equipment not under a service contract, the last date to order a new contract or add the equipment to an existing one. |
| End of Service Contract Renewal Date | January 29, 2026 | The last date to extend or renew a service contract for the product. |
| Last Date of Support | October 31, 2026 | The last date to receive applicable service and support as entitled by active service contracts or warranty terms; after it, all support services are unavailable and the product becomes obsolete. |
On this site the Catalyst 3650's "active support" date is the End-of-Sale Date and its end-of-life date is the Last Date of Support, the convention used for all Cisco hardware we track. The other milestones are carried in the product data under their own names.
The software side: IOS XE and the end of security remedies
The Catalyst 3650 runs Cisco IOS XE. Cisco's release notes list for the series runs from IOS XE 3.3.xSE to Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.x, the newest train with Catalyst 3650 release notes. Since the End of SW Maintenance Releases Date passed, Cisco's commitment for the switch's software has been limited to remedies for security vulnerabilities, and the notice ends that commitment on the Last Date of Support.
That matters because Cisco IOS XE is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: CVE-2023-20198, the IOS XE Web UI privilege escalation flaw, is one of its entries. A switch past its End of Vulnerability/Security Support date has no Cisco path to a fix for the next one. Check each advisory against your release, and see the Cisco IOS XE page for the release trains we track.
What Cisco recommends instead
The notice is headed "Upgrade to Catalyst 9300", and Cisco recommends customers upgrade to the Catalyst 9300 Series. Its Table 2 lists 111 affected part numbers: the WS-C3650 switch models, Cisco ONE bundles (C1-WS3650) and spares. For many switch part numbers the replacement column names a Catalyst 9300L model, such as the C9300L-24P-4X-A for the WS-C3650-24PD-E and WS-C3650-24PD-S. For some spares, among them power supplies, Cisco states that there is currently no replacement product. Look up your own part number in Table 2 of the notice before ordering.
Not the Catalyst 3850. The Catalyst 3850 has its own notice, EOL13188, and reached its Last Date of Support on October 31, 2025. The Catalyst 2960-X has its Last Date of Support on October 31, 2027. Check the model number on the switch before planning by the dates in this guide.
What to do
- Find every Catalyst 3650: the part numbers start with WS-C3650 (Cisco ONE bundles with C1-WS3650). Stacks count switch by switch.
- Check your contract end date: renewals closed on January 29, 2026, and no contract covers the switch past October 31, 2026.
- Apply the last security fixes now: Cisco may release scheduled security remedies until the Last Date of Support; after that there are none.
- Plan the replacement: use Table 2 of EOL14617 to map each part number to its named replacement, most of them in the Catalyst 9300 family.
- Check the rest of the estate: the Cisco Catalyst switches page re-reads Cisco's notices, and the EOL Checker answers for a single model.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Cisco Catalyst 3650 end of life?
Cisco's end-of-life notice EOL14617 gives the Catalyst 3650 Series a Last Date of Support of October 31, 2026. Cisco defines it as the last date to receive applicable service and support as entitled by active service contracts or warranty terms; after it, all support services for the product are unavailable and the product becomes obsolete.
Does the Catalyst 3650 still get security fixes?
Only until October 31, 2026, Cisco's End of Vulnerability/Security Support date for the Catalyst 3650: the last date Cisco Engineering may release a planned maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability. Ordinary software maintenance releases and bug fixes ended earlier, at the End of SW Maintenance Releases Date of October 31, 2022.
What replaces the Cisco Catalyst 3650?
Cisco's notice recommends that customers upgrade to the Catalyst 9300 Series, and its part number table names Catalyst 9300L models as replacements for many Catalyst 3650 part numbers. Some spare parts, such as power supplies, are listed with no replacement product.
Can I still renew a support contract for a Catalyst 3650?
No. Cisco's End of Service Contract Renewal Date for the Catalyst 3650 was January 29, 2026, and the End of New Service Attachment Date was October 31, 2022. An existing contract runs no later than the Last Date of Support.
Related
- Cisco Catalyst switches — every Catalyst model we track, live status and EOL Risk Score
- Cisco IOS XE — release trains and their end dates
- Cisco Meraki end of support — Meraki switch and appliance dates
- Juniper EX4300-48MP and EX4600 end of life — another vendor's campus switch dates
- End of service life for hardware — what the date means for an appliance