FortiGate 81E end of life: end of support dates
By Nico De Muynck · Updated August 5, 2026
Support ends soon, 80 days left.
The Fortinet FortiGate 81E reaches its End of Support on November 14, 2026. That is the hard stop: after it there are no firmware updates, no FortiGuard signatures, no hardware replacement and no technical support. The last FortiOS release this unit can run is 7.4.0.
FortiGate 81E lifecycle milestones
These dates are from Fortinet's Product Life Cycle listing for the FG-81E hardware.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| End of Order (last order date) | 2021-11-14 |
| Last Service Extension Date | 2025-11-14 |
| End of Support | 2026-11-14 |
| Last supported FortiOS version | 7.4.0 |
What these dates mean
End of Order is the last day the FortiGate 81E could be purchased new from Fortinet. Last Service Extension Date is the last day you could buy or extend a FortiCare support contract for it. End of Support is the one that matters most: after it the device stops receiving firmware updates and FortiGuard security signatures, so every new vulnerability stays unpatched and the firewall becomes a standing security and compliance risk. A firewall running without current FortiGuard updates is especially exposed, because it sits at the network edge. For how Fortinet's lifecycle works in full, see the Fortinet EOL guide.
What replaces the FortiGate 81E?
The FortiGate 81F is the direct replacement, with the 90G as the current-generation option if you want headroom. The 81E is the higher-storage sibling of the FortiGate 80E and follows it by three months: 80E support ends 17 August 2026, the 81E on 14 November 2026. Sites that bought both at once will hit two deadlines in one budget year, which is worth planning as a single refresh rather than two. FortiCare could no longer be extended after 14 November 2025. New to the terminology? See EOL vs EOS vs EOSL.
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