IBM i End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline
Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all IBM i versions. Data sourced from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation. Updated at every deploy.
| Version | Latest Release | Release Date | EOL Date | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | 2.1.1 | Mar 6, 1992 | Jun 30, 1994 | 11681 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.2 | 2.2 | Sep 18, 1992 | Mar 31, 1995 | 11407 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.3 | 2.3 | Dec 17, 1993 | May 31, 1996 | 10980 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.0 | 3.0.5 | Jun 3, 1994 | May 31, 1997 | 10615 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.1 | 3.1 | Nov 25, 1994 | Oct 31, 1998 | 10097 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.2 | 3.2 | Jun 21, 1996 | May 31, 2000 | 9519 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.6 | 3.6 | Dec 22, 1995 | Oct 31, 1998 | 10097 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.7 | 3.7 | Nov 8, 1996 | Jun 30, 1999 | 9855 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.1 | 4.1 | Aug 29, 1997 | May 31, 2000 | 9519 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.2 | 4.2 | Feb 27, 1998 | May 31, 2000 | 9519 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.3 | 4.3 | Sep 11, 1998 | Jan 31, 2001 | 9274 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.4 | 4.4 | May 21, 1999 | May 31, 2001 | 9154 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.5 | 4.5 | Jul 28, 2000 | Jul 31, 2002 | 8728 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.1 | 5.1 | May 25, 2001 | Sep 30, 2005 | 7571 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.2 | 5.2 | Aug 30, 2002 | Apr 30, 2007 | 6994 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.3 | 5.3 | Jun 11, 2004 | Apr 30, 2009 | 6263 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.4 | 5.4 | Feb 14, 2006 | Sep 30, 2013 | 4649 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.1 | 6.1.0 | Mar 21, 2008 | Sep 30, 2015 | 3919 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.1 | 7.1.0 | Apr 23, 2010 | Apr 30, 2018 | 2976 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.2 | 7.2.0 | May 2, 2014 | Apr 30, 2021 | 1880 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.3 | 7.3.0 | Apr 15, 2016 | Sep 30, 2023 | 997 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.4 | 7.4.0 | Jun 21, 2019 | Sep 30, 2026 | 99 days remaining | Warning |
| 7.5 | 7.5.0 | May 10, 2022 | TBD | Supported | Active |
| 7.6 | 7.6.0 | Apr 18, 2025 | TBD | Supported | Active |
What does IBM i end of life mean for your organization?
When a version of IBM i reaches end of life, the maintainers stop issuing security patches. Vulnerabilities discovered after this date are publicly disclosed on the National Vulnerability Database, exploit code appears on GitHub, and your systems remain permanently exposed.
The CVE blind spot: Most vulnerability scanners check for known CVEs but do not flag the accumulation of unpatched vulnerabilities in EOL software. With a zero-day, nobody knows about the vulnerability. With EOL software, the vulnerability is public — listed, rated, and often weaponized — but no patch will ever exist. This is the most dangerous gap in enterprise security posture.
Organizations running EOL IBM i should treat it as a vulnerability class in their risk register, apply compensating controls (network segmentation, enhanced monitoring, access restriction), and prioritize migration to a supported version.
Extended Support Options
If you cannot migrate immediately, extended support vendors provide continued security patches for EOL IBM i versions. This is a bridge, not a permanent solution — plan your migration in parallel.
We work with vetted extended support vendors. Tell us what you need and we'll connect you with the right provider.
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