# LTS or not LTS - that is the question **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Support\ **Created:** [September 22, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://forums.rocket.chat/t/lts-or-not-lts-that-is-the-question/23021 "2026-09-22T17:20:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![reetp](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex021/user_avatar/forums.rocket.chat/reetp/32/5546_2.png) [@reetp](https://forums.rocket.chat/u/reetp)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://forums.rocket.chat/t/lts-or-not-lts-that-is-the-question/23021/1 "2026-09-22T17:20:20Z")
When it is Rocket.Chat So we have 7.10.x and have been waiting for the next LTS to upgrade. I understood this would be 8.8.x LTS is supported for 12 months so you would expect that the next LTS would be released to align with the previous version ,and give you time to test and upgrade. But not at Rocket.Chat No, here they slip out 8.5 and call it LTS and the ONLY way you know it is if you keep checking the doc release pages to see if someone updated it (because the junk ‘upgrade’ notification system only annoys you about the LATEST release and never anything useful like security releases for YOUR version or the the fact there is a new LTS one). Of course I read the docs every day because I have absolutely nothing better to do with my time. Absolutely nothing in the release notes which I do generally read on each release. Utterly ridiculous. And it isn’t like the junk notification system hasn’t been mentioned before? Oh and then apparently 8.9 will ALSO be LTS but that will only be released on 1st October when 7.10.x will be EOL. And who in the their cotton picking right mind - bearing in mind the useless Q&A here - would upgrade a LTS to a brand new release? This is a management failure of epic proportions. Top to bottom, but IME it is the upper levels that are the worst. I have been away for a month and been waiting for news on the LTS. And now I find this, and due to other commitments I have 24 hours to try and upgrade two systems. You can probably guess that I am not best pleased with some of my ex work colleagues who really should know better. This is kindergarten stuff. It does not need Rocket scientists. It certainly need some more competent Rocket staff though. The solution is simple. Extend the support life of 7.10.x to the end of October so we can upgrade to 8.9.x and test properly. I expect the only sound will be crickets as normal. Fuming. ---
**Author:** ![gabriel.engel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex021/user_avatar/forums.rocket.chat/gabriel.engel/32/24_2.png) [@gabriel.engel](https://forums.rocket.chat/u/gabriel.engel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://forums.rocket.chat/t/lts-or-not-lts-that-is-the-question/23021/2 "2026-09-24T14:54:08Z")
Hi @reetp, First, thank you for the time and energy you have invested in Rocket.Chat over many years. You have been one of the community’s most engaged contributors, and your experience with the product means we take your concerns seriously. There are two separate questions here: whether an upgrade path was available and whether we communicated it clearly enough. Rocket.Chat 7.10 LTS was released in September 2025 with support through September 30, 2026, following our published 12-month LTS policy. Rocket.Chat 8.5 was released and added to the Version Durability Matrix as an LTS release in June 2026. An archived copy from July 1 already shows that designation. It is supported until June 2027. This means that 8.5 LTS was not designated at the last minute, and there has been approximately three months of overlap in which administrators could plan and test the migration from 7.10. For that reason, we cannot agree that there was only a 24-hour upgrade window or that extending 7.10 is necessarily the simple solution. The upcoming 8.9 LTS does not replace or shorten the support period for 8.5. Administrators who prioritize maturity can upgrade to the latest 8.5 patch and remain on that supported line until June 2027. Those who prefer the newer baseline can evaluate 8.9 after its release. Our policy allows us to designate selected releases as LTS based on release planning and stability criteria; it does not require a single successor or guarantee that a particular version number will receive the designation. That said, your underlying point about communication is fair. Although 8.5 was documented as LTS in the authoritative Version Durability Matrix, its status should have been more prominent in the release notes and administrator-facing notifications. The dedicated forum reminder on September 22 was also too close to the 7.10 EOL date to be useful as the primary reminder for organizations with formal testing and change-management processes. We can do better at making LTS designations and approaching EOL dates visible across all the channels administrators actually use. For reference: - [Release Lifecycle](https://docs.rocket.chat/docs/releaselifecycle) - [Version Durability](https://docs.rocket.chat/docs/version-durability) - [Archived Version Durability page from July 1, 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260701112133/https://docs.rocket.chat/docs/version-durability) Finally, we genuinely welcome candid criticism, especially from contributors who know the project as well as you do. At the same time, feedback is much easier for the team to act on when it focuses on specific facts, consequences, and proposed improvements. Personal remarks about the competence of our staff do not help us resolve the problem and can discourage the very people we need engaged in fixing it. Please keep challenging us when we fall short. We simply ask that we keep the conversation constructive and respectful so that the feedback can lead to meaningful improvements.