Apple tells its Support Community to STFU

User-to-user forum goes read-only ahead of November 20 closure, with archive's fate unclear

Apple has abruptly stopped accepting new posts on its Support Community, putting the forum into read-only mode ahead of permanent closure on November 20, 2026.

Users seeking help with their gizmos from other Apple customers were greeted with the message: "The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.

"We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products."

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Need help? Head to the official Apple Support site. Want to see if your fellow Apple users have an answer to what ails your device? This is no longer the forum for you.

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Some reports date the site's origins to 1998, when Apple was busy killing off the Newton platform and launching Mac OS 8.5. Technology has come a long way since then, and recent AI developments have made user-to-user forums like Apple's Support Community less popular.

Other places to seek advice remain, and useful answers were never guaranteed. As one user put it on X: "rip to every thread that ended with 'same problem here' and zero solutions."

Still, it's an abrupt end to almost three decades of accumulated advice, troubleshooting, and unanswered questions. Apple hasn't said whether that archive will remain accessible after the closure.

The Register asked Apple for the reasoning behind the termination. The company has yet to respond. ®