Three weeks ago the Meraki Wi-Fi 5 line went dark. MR33, MR42, MR52, MR74 and MR84 all lost support on July 21, 2026. The Wi-Fi 6 generation is next, and the AireOS controllers reach last day of support before the Aironet access points they manage. Here is every date, where Cisco's own documents disagree, and what your options look like.
The four dates that matter most right now: Meraki MR33, MR42, MR52, MR53, MR74, MR84 and MR45 reached end of support on July 21, 2026, which has already passed. AireOS controllers (3504, 5520, 8540) hit last day of support on January 31, 2027. Aironet 1815/1830/1850 and 1540 follow on April 30, 2027, the 2800/3800/4800 on October 31, 2027. And every indoor Wi-Fi 6 model, Meraki MR36/MR44/MR46 and Catalyst 9105 through 9130, leaves sale on December 31, 2026.
Cisco publishes these dates one bulletin per product family, spread across dozens of PDFs and notice pages, and Meraki keeps a separate summary table that does not always agree with them. This page pulls every current date into one place, read from the bulletins rather than the summaries, so you can check your estate in one pass. Dates verified against Cisco and Meraki published notices as of August 12, 2026.
Running old switches too? See the companion table: Cisco switch end of life dates →
| Product line | End of sale | Software fixes end | Last day of support | Status today | Cisco's replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meraki MR access points: support already ended | |||||
| Meraki MR33 | Jul 14, 2022 | Not published | Jul 21, 2026 | Unsupported | CW9172 / CW9176 |
| Meraki MR42 / MR42E | Jul 14, 2022 / Apr 22, 2022 | Not published | Jul 21, 2026 | Unsupported | CW9172 / CW9176 |
| Meraki MR52 / MR53 / MR53E | Apr 7, 2022 (MR53 May 7, 2021) | Not published | Jul 21, 2026 | Unsupported | CW9174 / CW9176 |
| Meraki MR45 | Jul 21, 2021 | Not published | Jul 21, 2026 | Unsupported | CW9174 / CW9176 |
| Meraki MR74 / MR84 (outdoor) | Jul 21, 2021 / May 7, 2021 | Not published | Jul 21, 2026 | Unsupported | MR76 / MR86 |
| Meraki MR18 / MR26 / MR32 / MR34 / MR62 / MR66 / MR72 | 2016 – 2017 | Not published | 2023 – 2024 | Long unsupported | Any current MR or CW model |
| Meraki MR access points: support still running | |||||
| Meraki MR30H | May 31, 2022 | Not published | Jul 26, 2027 | 11 months left | CW9172 |
| Meraki MR55 | Apr 7, 2022 | Not published | Aug 1, 2027 | 12 months left | CW9174 / CW9176 |
| Meraki MR20 | Jun 1, 2023 | Not published | Jun 13, 2028 | Sold out, supported | CW9172 |
| Meraki MR70 (outdoor) | Feb 19, 2024 | Not published | Feb 19, 2029 | Sold out, supported | MR76 / MR86 |
| Meraki MR56 | Aug 7, 2025 | Not published | Aug 7, 2030 | Sold out, supported | CW9176 |
| Wi-Fi 6 generation: one bulletin, both brands (EOL15855) | |||||
| Meraki MR36 / MR36H / MR44 / MR46 / MR46E | Dec 31, 2026 | Mar 29, 2028 | Dec 31, 2031 | Leaving sale | CW9172 / 9174 / 9176 (Wi-Fi 7) |
| Catalyst 9105AX / 9115AX / 9130AX | Dec 31, 2026 | Mar 29, 2028 | Dec 31, 2031 | Leaving sale | CW9172 / 9174 / 9176 (Wi-Fi 7) |
| Catalyst 9120AXI | Jul 31, 2026 | Mar 29, 2028 | Dec 31, 2031 | Cannot order | CW9174 |
| Catalyst 9120AXE / C9120AXP | Jul 10, 2026 | Mar 29, 2028 | Dec 31, 2031 | Cannot order | CW9174 |
| Other Catalyst access points | |||||
| Catalyst 9117AX (Wi-Fi 6) | Apr 30, 2021 | Apr 30, 2022 | Apr 30, 2026 | Unsupported | Catalyst 9130, then CW917x |
| Catalyst 9105AX Teleworker bundle | May 16, 2025 | May 16, 2026 | May 31, 2030 | Patches ended | CW9172 |
| Catalyst 9124AX (outdoor), 9136, Meraki MR28 / MR76 / MR78 / MR86 | Not announced | n/a | n/a | Current | Named as excluded from EOL15855 |
| CW9162 / 9164 / 9166 (Wi-Fi 6E), CW9176 / CW9178 (Wi-Fi 7) | Not announced | n/a | n/a | Current | The designated migration target |
| Aironet access points | |||||
| Aironet 1700 / 2700 / 3700 | Apr 30, 2019 | Apr 29, 2020 | Apr 30, 2024 | Unsupported | Wi-Fi 7 CW917x family |
| Aironet 1815 / 1830 / 1850 | May 1, 2022 | May 1, 2023 | Apr 30, 2027 | 8 months left | Catalyst 9105 / 9115, then CW917x |
| Aironet 1540 (outdoor) | May 1, 2022 | May 1, 2023 | Apr 30, 2027 | 8 months left | Catalyst 9124AX |
| Aironet 2800 / 3800 / 4800 | Oct 31, 2022 | May 1, 2024 | Oct 31, 2027 | Patches ended | Catalyst 9120 / 9130, then CW917x |
| Aironet 1560 (outdoor) | Jan 31, 2023 | May 1, 2024 | Jan 31, 2028 | Patches ended | Catalyst 9124AX |
| Wireless LAN controllers | |||||
| WLC 2504 / 5508 | 2018 | 2019 | 2023 | Unsupported | Catalyst 9800 |
| WLC 3504 (AireOS) | Jan 31, 2021 | Jan 31, 2023 | Jan 31, 2027 (hardware) | 5 months left | Catalyst 9800-L / 40 / 80 |
| WLC 5520 (AireOS) | Dec 10, 2021 | Jan 31, 2023 | Jan 31, 2027 (hardware) | 5 months left | Catalyst 9800-L / 40 / 80 |
| WLC 8540 (AireOS) | Jan 31, 2022 | Jan 31, 2023 | Jan 31, 2027 (hardware) | 5 months left | Catalyst 9800-L / 40 / 80 |
| Embedded Wireless Controller on a Catalyst AP | Nov 29, 2024 | Mar 31, 2027 | Nov 30, 2029 | Capped at IOS-XE 17.15 | Catalyst 9800 or Meraki Dashboard |
A Meraki licence is not support, and this catches almost everyone. Meraki sells licences in terms that routinely run past a model's end of support date, and the Dashboard will happily co-terminate a five-year licence onto an MR33 whose support ended on July 21, 2026. The licence keeps the access point online. It does not buy you firmware, security patches, TAC, or any promise the unit can still reach the cloud. The mirror image is just as costly: end of support does not switch an access point off, but a lapsed licence does, after a 30 day grace period. Licensing decides whether it runs. End of support decides whether it gets fixed.
The controller runs out before the access points do, and its software already has. If your Aironet 2800/3800/4800s hang off a 3504, 5520 or 8540, the controller loses hardware support on January 31, 2027, up to nine months before the APs themselves. Worse, Cisco splits that milestone: AireOS software support on those controllers ended January 31, 2025. The chassis is still contract-supportable today, the code running on it is not. Plan the controller and the APs as one move.
Wi-Fi 6 leaves the price list December 31, 2026, and two models went early. Cisco's March 30, 2026 bulletin, EOL15855, retires every indoor Wi-Fi 6 access point across both brands in one stroke: Catalyst 9105, 9115, 9120 and 9130 alongside Meraki MR36, MR36H, MR44, MR46 and MR46E. Support runs to December 31, 2031. But the Catalyst 9120 is already unorderable, because Cisco pulled its end of sale forward to July 10 and July 31, 2026 when stock ran out. It did the same thing to the Aironet Wave 2 line. A published end of sale date is a ceiling, not a promise.
Where Cisco's own documents disagree, and which one to believe. Meraki's summary end of life table still lists the MR33 end of sale as May 7, 2021. The amended MR33 bulletin dated June 24, 2022 says otherwise, in plain text: end of sale July 14, 2022, previously May 7, 2021. Cisco extended it because inventory was still available. The table was never updated. End of support was July 21, 2026 either way, so this changes warranty maths rather than your deadline, but it tells you which source to trust: the dated bulletin, not the summary page. The 5520 bulletin has the same problem internally, its overview paragraph and its own Table 1 give different end of sale dates.
The last day Cisco takes orders. The gear keeps working and keeps support, but you can no longer buy matching units. Expansions and spares now come from a shrinking secondary market at unpredictable prices.
The last day Cisco ships bug fixes and security patches. The AP still runs, but every vulnerability found after this date stays open forever. For most compliance frameworks this is the date that actually matters.
The end of the line: no TAC cases, no RMA replacements, no engineering help of any kind. Cisco's language for dead. Anything still running past this date is entirely on you.
Wi-Fi attacks like KRACK and FragAttacks were patched on supported APs within weeks. On an AP past its software maintenance date, the next one never gets patched. Wireless is your perimeter; it is a bad place to freeze in time.
PCI DSS 4.0, HIPAA security reviews and cyber insurance questionnaires all ask whether components are vendor-supported. "No" turns into findings, exceptions to document, and in some renewals, higher premiums or declined claims.
No RMA means a failed AP is a dead AP. You scavenge the secondary market for matching units, and each swap costs hours. Meraki gear is stricter still: past end of support, hardware is not eligible for replacement at all.
The controller comes with it. AireOS is done: software maintenance ended in 2023 and the last controllers leave support January 31, 2027. Replacing the APs means replacing the controller with a Catalyst 9800 or cloud management, new licensing included, or moving to a platform where the controller does not exist as a box you own.
Your switches may not power the new APs. Wi-Fi 6E and 7 access points draw 30 to 40 watts and want multigigabit ports. Catalyst 3850s and 2960-Xs, the switches most of these old APs plug into, are at or past their own end of life and often cannot deliver either. One refresh cascades into the other. Check your switch dates in the switch end of life table →
The licensing model has changed underneath you. Old Aironet ran on perpetual licenses you bought once. Everything Cisco now sells, Catalyst with DNA subscriptions or the merged Cisco Wireless line, is subscription-first. The quote for "the same network, newer" includes a recurring line that was never there before.
Lead times eat your runway. Between quote cycles, supply queues and install scheduling, a mid-size wireless refresh takes one to two quarters end to end. A deadline that looks comfortable in August is tight by the time hardware ships. We cover this in network hardware lead times →
Or stop owning the refresh cycle entirely. Network as a Service replaces bought hardware with a managed subscription: the provider supplies and installs current APs, switches and management, monitors it, and refreshes hardware when it ages out. End of life dates become the provider's problem. One monthly price covers hardware, licenses and operations. See what NaaS is → or estimate the monthly cost →
Support ended July 21, 2026. You are three weeks past it. These still pass traffic and your licence still bills, but there is no RMA, no TAC and no firmware coming. Meraki does not even guarantee they keep reaching the Dashboard. This is the front of the queue.
You have between eleven months and under two years: MR30H to July 26, 2027, MR55 to August 1, 2027, MR20 to June 13, 2028. Long enough to budget properly, short enough that it belongs in the next planning cycle rather than the one after.
Supported to December 31, 2031, so no panic. But last orders are December 31, 2026, and the 9120 already went early when stock ran out. Buy the spares and expansion units you will need before December, or accept a mixed estate.
Your real deadline is the controller's, January 31, 2027, not the AP dates. The AireOS software on it went unsupported back in January 2025. Scope the controller and APs as one project and get it into this budget cycle.
Support ends April 30, 2027, and patches already stopped in 2023. You have one comfortable procurement window left. Use it to decide: refresh you own, or a subscription that ends the cycle.
Pull a Dashboard inventory export or a controller AP summary and check it against the table above. Fifteen minutes tells you whether 2027 is a to-do item or a fire drill. We can do this with you at no cost.
An independent advisor can map your AP and controller dates against refresh and NaaS options, with real quotes from multiple providers. No vendor pitch, no cost, no obligation.