MR33 End-of-Support by July 21, 2026

[VRB]

Our MR33 units will have an End-of-Support by July 21, 2026, will they still work? I know that this is the last date that Cisco Meraki will provide technical support and software/security updates for the MR33. But the question is, will they still work normally, given that our Co-termination license is still due by November 2026? Will Cisco still provide the upgraded (MR36) hardware replacement units? I have already spoken to our local Cisco Reseller, but their answer is still not clear. They are also waiting for the official CISCO reply.

[Holli69]

Your MR33 units will work until November 2026.

You can upgrade from MR33 to MR36 at any time.

[russellj99]

I am in a similar position to the OP but I have MR42 aps that are End-of-Support July 2026. Our co-termination of licencing is good through Feb 2028 (though we would be looking at Summer -2027 replacement anyway). Meraki is not clear if these will straight up stop working or stop being managed on July 2026 or not? 

[VRB]

We have the same case... but we are talking here of almost 500 units that might suddenly stop working. The clock is ticking. Will update here once we have the clarification from CISCO. Please also update us if you are already talking with them.

[Mloraditch]

Generally EOL devices will continue to function and be manageable after the EOL date. Meraki will announce otherwise if devices will not be manageable for whatever reason. The MR33 is not subject to any restrictions like that yet.

While the MR36 is available that is 2 generations (Wifi 6) behind the current offerings the 9162/64 (Wifi 6e) or 9172/9174 (Wifi 7) would be more current upgrades and the 917Xs are prices the same as the 916Xs, so would strongly recommend the Wifi 7 aps for best bang for your buck.

[russellj99]

"Generally EOL devices will continue to function and be manageable after the EOL date. Meraki will announce otherwise if devices will not be manageable for whatever reason."

Are they going to tell us out of the goodness of their hearts? Working in K12 schools is a different beast because of the funding problem, if a bond issue passes or not, etc. We are in a situation with the MR42 that if we can get ONE MORE YEAR of management and functionality out of them then we can replace our entire fleet at the same time instead of 50% of the fleet, doable but not ideal when we are trying to plan projects together. 

[RWelch]

@russellj99 I completely understand where you are coming from....I would suggest presenting this exact scenario/situation to your preferred partner/account manager to get an answer.  Just sharing that you might get a solid answer going that route vs the community forum response.

[VRB]

This is also what we are planning to do. Just getting some inputs before we have the meeting with them. 

[BlakeRichardson]

I also work in education and this is why rolling replacement programs are a must, every year I replace a percentage of staff devices, servers have a 4 year life span. Wifi is a large capital outlay and you may need to do it in stages, doing so if you are staying with the same vendor isn't too much of an issue. 

[Inderdeep]

Details for all End of support 

https://documentation.meraki.com/Platform_Management/Product_Information/End-of-Life_Notices/Meraki_...

[BlakeRichardson]

Cisco won't provide MR36 for free you will need to buy them, i just wanted to clarify that as your post made it seem like you expected Cisco to provide them. 

I would suggest that now is a good time to implement hardware life cycles so that you don't end up in this situation in the future. You should be doing the same with computers, servers and other network equipment. 

Good luck with your wifi refresh.

[VRB]

What I mentioned was the RMA hardware replacement and not a free refresh. They always replace our defective MR33 units with MR36 after the EOL. 

[BlakeRichardson]

End of support means if you have faulty hardware then it's time to buy a replacement. Once that cut off date is reached you are on your own. 

There are two different EOL dates, the first being end of sale meaning a device is no longer sold but still supported. Then there is end of support where the device is no longer sold or supported. 

https://documentation.meraki.com/Platform_Management/Product_Information/End-of-Life_Notices/Meraki_...

[alemabrahao]

If Cisco replaced every device entering EOS for free, nobody would buy new devices anymore to do a technological refresh.

[VRB]

What I mentioned was the RMA hardware replacement and not a free refresh. They always replace our defective MR33 units with MR36 after the EOL. 

[alemabrahao]

This is only true when support is still active in case of a defect.

Think of it this way: would it make sense to insure a car that already has a defect? No insurance company would make that agreement.