The Apple Support Community is shutting down for good on November 20, 2026, and it has already stopped taking new posts. If you have ever fixed an iPhone or Mac problem with a forum thread, save the answers you rely on now. Apple hasn’t said whether old threads will stay online.
Here is the short version of what we know so far:
- November 20, 2026 is the permanent closing date, per the notice on the site.
- Since November 10, the forum is read-only: you can search and read threads, but you can’t ask or reply.
- Apple’s notice points people to its official support site, support.apple.com.
- Still unknown: whether old threads stay up, and whether members can export their own posts.
That last gap is the one that matters most to you, because it decides how much you should save this week.
What the Apple Support Community Shutdown Means Right Now
9to5Mac spotted the notice on November 10. It reads that the community “will permanently close on November 20, 2026,” and that “starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts.” The notice calls it the “AppleCare Support Community,” although the forum is normally branded Apple Support Community.
In practice, nothing is lost yet. Every existing thread can still be searched and read, and the “Me too” and voting buttons still work. The sign-in button reportedly leads to an internal Apple employee login, so regular members can’t get back in.
That leaves roughly a week of read access. After that, it’s up to Apple.
What Apple Hasn’t Told Us Yet
Apple hasn’t given a reason for the closure, and Phandroid notes that the notice doesn’t explain how members can export their posts or what happens to their points and levels. 9to5Mac says it asked Apple about the scope of the shutdown and is waiting on a reply.
This is the part worth being careful about. A closed forum can mean the pages vanish, or it can mean they stay up as an archive. Nobody outside Apple knows which one this is, so plan for the worse case.
How to Save the Threads You Rely On
You don’t need a fancy tool. Five minutes with your browser history is enough for most people.
- Open the threads that fixed something for you and bookmark them in a folder called “Apple fixes.”
- Print each useful page to PDF (on a Mac, File, then Export as PDF in Safari) so you keep the steps even if the page disappears.
- Copy the exact fix, such as a Terminal command or a Settings path, into a notes app with a one-line description of the problem.
- Optionally, submit the page URL to the Internet Archive’s Save Page Now tool. It may keep a public copy, though that is no promise.
The notes-app copy is the one that will actually save you in a year, because you’ll be able to search it.
Where to Ask for Help After November 20
Apple’s notice names only one destination. Phandroid’s write-up suggests Reddit as a second option when Apple’s own articles fall short. Here is how the two compare for a typical problem.
| Option | Good for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Apple’s official support site | Official how-to guides and the supported way to contact Apple | Won’t discuss odd edge cases or workarounds the way a user forum did |
| Fast peer answers for unusual bugs after a new update | Quality varies, and nobody is moderating for accuracy | |
| Your own saved notes | Problems you’ve already solved once | Only as good as what you save before the 20th |
If your trouble started after a recent update, check whether we’ve already covered it. Our rundown of iOS 27.2 features and the macOS 27.2.1 certificate fix are good places to start.
Why This Closing Stings More Than Most
This isn’t a young forum. 9to5Mac traces it back to at least 1998, when it was called Apple Tech Exchange, and it was relaunched as Apple Support Communities in April 2011. Nearly three decades of user-written fixes sit in those threads.
There was also an earlier warning sign. MacRumors reported in 2023 that Apple planned to end the paid community specialist role that helped run the forum, as noted by Phandroid. Whether the two are connected is Apple’s to explain.
For people with older iPhones and Macs, this matters most. Official guides tend to cover current software, while forum threads often held the only answer for a five-year-old problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Apple Support Community close?
Apple’s notice says November 20, 2026. The site stopped accepting new posts on November 10 and is read-only until then.
Can I still post a question?
No. New questions and replies are disabled, and regular sign-in appears to be restricted to Apple staff.
Will my old posts be deleted?
Apple hasn’t said. Neither 9to5Mac nor Phandroid could confirm whether threads will be archived, so save anything you care about.
Where should I go for iPhone or Mac help now?
Start with support.apple.com, which is where Apple’s notice sends you. Reddit is a reasonable second stop for community answers.
Can I export my own posts?
The notice doesn’t describe an export option. If you want a copy of your answers, save the pages yourself.
Our Take
Treat this as a free reminder to build your own fix library. Spend ten minutes this week saving the three or four threads that ever solved something for you, and you’ll be fine whatever Apple decides about the archive. If Apple does keep the pages online, you’ve lost nothing, and if it doesn’t, you’ll be glad you did it before the 20th.
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