Apple Support Community Is Closing on November 20 After 28 Years: What US Users Need to Do Now

If you have ever typed an iPhone error message into a search box and landed on a forum thread that fixed it, you have probably used the Apple Support Community without even noticing. For close to three decades, that forum has been the place where Apple users helped each other solve problems. Now Apple is pulling the plug. The company announced on November 10, 2026 that the Apple Support Community will permanently close on Friday, November 20, 2026, and the forums have already gone read-only. That leaves users with ten days to save anything they still need.

What Apple announced

Visitors to discussions.apple.com, the home of the forums, are now greeted by a short notice at the top of every page. It reads: "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." The notice thanks members who contributed their time and expertise, and it points people to the official Apple Support site at support.apple.com.

The change took effect immediately. According to MacRumors, the final message posted to the site was submitted at 5:49 p.m. Pacific Time on November 10. Since then, nobody has been able to start a new question or reply to an existing thread. The site still works as an archive for now: you can open old threads, browse the boards, and search past answers. But the conversation itself is over. Apple has not given a detailed public reason for the shutdown, telling MacRumors only that the decision followed a careful evaluation of strategy and customer needs.

A forum with a 28-year history

The Apple Support Community is one of the oldest user forums on the internet. It began in 1998 as the Apple Tech Exchange, a place where Mac owners could trade tips and fixes. It became Apple Discussions in 2000 and took its current name, the Apple Support Community, in 2011. Across those years it grew into a huge library of user-written answers covering every Apple product.

The forums were never staffed by Apple support agents in the usual sense. They ran on volunteers: experienced users who earned points and levels for answering questions. Over time, that volunteer effort built an archive that search engines leaned on heavily. When a strange error code appeared on a Mac or an iPhone update broke a feature, the first useful result was often a Support Community thread where someone had already found a way around it.

What happens to your posts and points

The biggest open question is what happens to the archive after November 20. Apple has not said whether the threads will stay online in any form. MacRumors reporter Joe Rossignol wrote on X that Apple told him users can expect the forums to be entirely removed after November 20: "Not even read-only. Gone." The closure notice says the community "will permanently close," not that it will be archived or moved.

That matters for two groups of people. The first is anyone who wrote answers there. Long-time contributors built up points and levels over years of helping others: Apple's own guide lists ten levels, from Level 1 at zero points to Level 10 at 80,000 points. Apple has not said what happens to those points or profiles, and its closing notice offers no way to download or export your posts. The second group is everyone who bookmarked a thread as a fix for a recurring problem. If the archive disappears on November 20, those bookmarks will lead nowhere.

How to save the threads you need

With ten days left and no export tool from Apple, the only safe move is to save the threads you care about yourself, one at a time. Start by searching the forums for the topics you rely on, such as a fix for a printer that drops off your network or steps for recovering a forgotten Apple ID password.

For each thread you want to keep, save it as a PDF from your browser. On a Mac, open the thread, choose File and then Print, and select Save as PDF. On an iPhone or iPad, open the thread in Safari, tap Share, choose Print, then pinch out on the preview to save it to Files. Give the file a clear name, such as the error message or the problem it solves.

Where to get help after November 20

Apple's closing notice sends users to the official Apple Support site, support.apple.com, which offers articles, guided troubleshooting, and ways to contact Apple by chat or phone. The company also runs the Genius Bar in its retail stores for in-person help. Those channels are staffed by Apple, which is a real difference from the forums. You will get an official answer, but you will not get the kind of workaround that only another user with the same odd setup would know.

Apple has closed services before, but this one lands differently. The forums were not a product Apple sold. They were a place Apple users built together, one answer at a time, and Apple hosted it. Official support pages cover the common cases well, but the long tail of strange errors and unusual setups lived in the community. When that archive goes, some of those fixes go with it. The forums are readable until November 20, 2026. If there is a thread that has saved you before, save it now while you still can.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Apple Support Community closing?

The Apple Support Community will permanently close on Friday, November 20, 2026. The forums went read-only on November 10, 2026, so no new posts or replies are being accepted. According to MacRumors, Apple has told reporters the forums will be entirely removed after November 20.

Can I still read old threads on the Apple Support Community?

Yes, for now. The site at discussions.apple.com is still readable until November 20. You can open threads, browse the boards, and search past answers, but you cannot post, reply, or sign in.

How do I save a thread before the forums close?

Open the thread in your browser and save it as a PDF. On a Mac, use File and then Print and choose Save as PDF. On an iPhone or iPad, open the thread in Safari, tap Share, choose Print, and pinch out on the preview to save it to Files. Apple offers no export tool, so saving threads one by one is the only option.