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IBM End-of-Life Dates: The Complete Enterprise Matrix

Published: July 28, 2026  ·  Dates verified against IBM lifecycle pages and announcement letters — methodology

The short version: September 30, 2026 is the date most IBM shops need on the wall. On that single day, z/OS 2.5 and IBM i 7.4 both reach end of standard support — and if you run IBM's Semeru Java runtime, version 26 goes with them. Db2 11.5 follows on April 30, 2027, and AIX 7.3's technology levels start rolling off in November 2026. This page is the whole picture in one place: every tracked release of IBM's enterprise stack — z/OS, IBM i, AIX, Db2, MQ, Semeru — with dates from IBM's own lifecycle pages and announcement letters, linked per version.

Why IBM dates cluster: IBM retires software on its fiscal calendar — end-of-support dates land overwhelmingly on September 30 and April 30. That is convenient for IBM's bookkeeping and dangerous for yours: deadlines you track separately have a habit of arriving together, as this September proves.

The September 30 problem

Three clocks expire on the same Wednesday:

And just before the wave: IBM's own QRadar SaaS security suite (EDR, XDR, Randori) stops being supported August 31, 2026 following the Palo Alto Networks asset sale — the tool watching your stack for unsupported software becomes unsupported software a month before your operating systems do.

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The Power8 trap

The IBM i 7.4 deadline carries a hardware constraint that changes the decision entirely: 7.4 is the last IBM i release that Power8 hardware can run. On Power9, Power10 or Power11 you upgrade the OS to 7.5 or 7.6 and move on. On Power8, "upgrade the OS" means replace the server — which turns a software deadline into a procurement project with lead times to match. If that's you, the practical choice now is between a hardware refresh and the ~2× cost of a Service Extension while you plan one.

z/OS

ReleaseReleasedEnd of supportStatus
3.22025-09-30No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
3.12023-09-29No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
2.52021-09-30Sep 30, 202664 days remaining
2.42019-09-30Sep 30, 2024PAST EOL (666 days)
2.32017-09-29Sep 30, 2022PAST EOL (1397 days)
2.22015-09-30Sep 30, 2020PAST EOL (2127 days)
2.12013-09-30Sep 30, 2018PAST EOL (2858 days)

IBM i

ReleaseReleasedEnd of supportStatus
7.62025-04-18No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
7.52022-05-10No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
7.42019-06-21Sep 30, 202664 days remaining
7.32016-04-15Sep 30, 2023PAST EOL (1032 days)
7.22014-05-02Apr 30, 2021PAST EOL (1915 days)
7.12010-04-23Apr 30, 2018PAST EOL (3011 days)
6.12008-03-21Sep 30, 2015PAST EOL (3954 days)
5.42006-02-14Sep 30, 2013PAST EOL (4684 days)
5.32004-06-11Apr 30, 2009PAST EOL (6298 days)
5.22002-08-30Apr 30, 2007PAST EOL (7029 days)
5.12001-05-25Sep 30, 2005PAST EOL (7606 days)
4.52000-07-28Jul 31, 2002PAST EOL (8763 days)
4.41999-05-21May 31, 2001PAST EOL (9189 days)
4.31998-09-11Jan 31, 2001PAST EOL (9309 days)
4.21998-02-27May 31, 2000PAST EOL (9554 days)
4.11997-08-29May 31, 2000PAST EOL (9554 days)
3.71996-11-08Jun 30, 1999PAST EOL (9890 days)
3.61995-12-22Oct 31, 1998PAST EOL (10132 days)
3.21996-06-21May 31, 2000PAST EOL (9554 days)
3.11994-11-25Oct 31, 1998PAST EOL (10132 days)
3.01994-06-03May 31, 1997PAST EOL (10650 days)
2.31993-12-17May 31, 1996PAST EOL (11015 days)
2.21992-09-18Mar 31, 1995PAST EOL (11442 days)
2.11992-03-06Jun 30, 1994PAST EOL (11716 days)

AIX

AIX support runs per Technology Level — the 7.3 label alone tells you nothing about whether patches are still coming. TL2 ends November 30, 2026; TL3 runs to the end of 2027.

ReleaseReleasedEnd of supportStatus
7.3.42025-12-06Dec 31, 2028Supported
7.3.32024-12-06Dec 31, 2027Supported
7.3.22023-11-30Nov 30, 2026125 days remaining
7.3.12022-12-31Dec 31, 2025PAST EOL (209 days)
7.3.02021-12-31Dec 31, 2024PAST EOL (574 days)
7.2.52020-11-30No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
7.2.42019-11-30Nov 30, 2022PAST EOL (1336 days)
7.2.32018-09-30Sep 30, 2021PAST EOL (1762 days)
7.2.22017-10-31Oct 31, 2020PAST EOL (2096 days)
7.2.12016-11-30Nov 30, 2019PAST EOL (2432 days)
7.2.02015-12-31Dec 31, 2018PAST EOL (2766 days)
7.1.52017-10-31Apr 30, 2023PAST EOL (1185 days)
6.1.92013-11-30Apr 30, 2017PAST EOL (3376 days)

Db2 (Linux/Unix/Windows)

ReleaseReleasedEnd of supportStatus
12.12024-11-14No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
11.52019-06-25Apr 30, 2027276 days remaining
11.12016-06-15Apr 30, 2022PAST EOL (1550 days)
10.52013-07-26Apr 30, 2020PAST EOL (2280 days)
10.12012-06-11Sep 30, 2017PAST EOL (3223 days)
9.72009-08-28Sep 30, 2017PAST EOL (3223 days)
9.52007-12-14Apr 30, 2015PAST EOL (4107 days)
9.12006-09-22Apr 30, 2012PAST EOL (5202 days)

MQ

ReleaseReleasedEnd of supportStatus
IBM MQ 10.0 LTS2026-06-16No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
IBM MQ 9.4 LTS2024-06-18No date announcedSupported — no announced end date
IBM MQ 9.3 LTS2022-06-23Sep 30, 2027Supported
IBM MQ 9.2 LTS2020-07-23Sep 30, 2025PAST EOL (301 days)
IBM MQ 9.1 LTS2018-07-23Sep 30, 2023PAST EOL (1032 days)
IBM MQ 9.0 LTS2016-06-02Sep 30, 2021PAST EOL (1762 days)
IBM MQ 8.02014-06-13Apr 30, 2020PAST EOL (2280 days)
WebSphere MQ 7.52012-06-15Apr 30, 2018PAST EOL (3011 days)
WebSphere MQ 7.12011-11-01Apr 30, 2017PAST EOL (3376 days)
WebSphere MQ 7.02008-05-01Sep 30, 2015PAST EOL (3954 days)
WebSphere MQ 6.X2005-05-01Sep 30, 2012PAST EOL (5049 days)
WebSphere MQ 5.32002-06-01Sep 28, 2007PAST EOL (6878 days)
MQ Series 5.22000-12-01Dec 31, 2003PAST EOL (8245 days)

Semeru Runtime (IBM's Java)

ReleaseReleasedEnd of supportStatus
262026-03-18Sep 30, 202664 days remaining
252025-09-25Sep 30, 2030Supported
242025-03-31Sep 25, 2025PAST EOL (306 days)
232024-09-18Mar 31, 2025PAST EOL (484 days)
222024-05-21Sep 18, 2024PAST EOL (678 days)
212023-09-22Dec 31, 2029Supported
172021-12-09Oct 31, 2027Supported
112021-09-16Oct 31, 2027Supported
82021-09-16Dec 31, 2030Supported

What "end of support" means at IBM

IBM's pattern is more forgiving than most vendors' — and more expensive. Standard support ends on the announced date, but IBM usually offers a Service Extension: continued defect and security support for a defined window, historically at roughly twice the cost of standard support, with narrower scope. IBM i 7.4's extension runs to September 30, 2029; z/OS 2.5 transitions to Extended/Sustained support terms. That extension window is a genuine option — but it is a paid bridge, not a plan. After it closes, the road forks the same way it always does: migrate, or find third-party support. And as we documented this week in the Arista VeloCloud case, software past vendor support doesn't just stop receiving patches — it stops being assessed when new vulnerabilities land.

Running IBM Power hardware past its service life too? Hardware EOSL is its own discipline — eosl.ai tracks it.

Methodology

Every date in the tables above is generated from our tracked dataset — never hand-typed — and each release links to its own page with per-version sources. Load-bearing dates were re-verified against IBM's live pages on July 28, 2026: z/OS 2.5's September 30, 2026 date directly on IBM's lifecycle page, IBM i 7.4's date against coverage of announcement letter AD25-0894. IBM publishes lifecycle data across many separate announcement letters and product pages; where IBM has announced no date, the tables say so rather than projecting one. Corrections welcome — our verification process is public.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does IBM i 7.4 reach end of support?

September 30, 2026 (IBM announcement AD25-0894). IBM i 7.4 was withdrawn from marketing on April 30, 2026. After end of support, a paid Service Extension runs through September 30, 2029 — historically at roughly twice the cost of standard support. If you run Power8 hardware, 7.4 is the last IBM i release that hardware can run.

When does z/OS 2.5 reach end of support?

September 30, 2026, per IBM's own lifecycle page, which lists the date as a transition to Extended/Sustained support or end of support. z/OS 3.1 and 3.2 have no announced end dates yet.

Is AIX still supported?

Yes — AIX 7.3 is current, but support is per Technology Level: AIX 7.3 TL2 ends November 30, 2026 and TL3 ends December 31, 2027. Staying supported on AIX means tracking TL dates, not just the 7.3 label.

When does Db2 11.5 reach end of support?

April 30, 2027. Db2 12.1 is the current release with no announced end date. April 30 and September 30 recur across IBM's portfolio because end-of-support dates align to IBM's fiscal quarters.

What happens after an IBM product reaches end of support?

Standard support stops; IBM typically offers a paid Service Extension (historically around twice the cost of standard support, with limited scope) for a defined window — for example IBM i 7.4's extension runs to September 30, 2029. After that, options narrow to migration or third-party support. Unsupported releases stop receiving security patches and stop being assessed in security advisories.

Sources

The Monthly EOL Digest™

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