Entidex Bridge / Phone systems / FreePBX 16 end of life
FreePBX 16 end of life
Sangoma's own table gives 1 January 2027 as the end-of-life date for FreePBX 16 and says it may come sooner. Security-only support began on 1 September 2026. This page sets out what that means, the honest options, and what to write down before you choose.
Last checked 16 October 2026
Survey is read-only and available now; write features are in development.
What changes
Three things end, on different dates: the FreePBX software, the operating system under it, and the Asterisk engine inside it.
| Platform | Status | Dates | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreePBX 16 | Security fixes onlySangoma says it may end sooner. | Security fixes and commercial improvements only from 1 September 2026. End of life 1 January 2027, or sooner. | Sangoma: FreePBX versions |
| FreePBX 17 | Supported | Security fixes and commercial improvements only from 14 February 2028. End of life 30 June 2028. | Sangoma: FreePBX versions |
| Asterisk 18 | End of life | End of life 20 October 2025. | Asterisk: versions |
| Asterisk 20 | Security fixes only | Security fixes only from 19 October 2026. End of life 19 October 2027. | Asterisk: versions |
| Asterisk 21 | Ending | End of life 18 October 2026. | Asterisk: versions |
| Asterisk 22 (long-term support) | Supported | Security fixes only from 16 October 2028. End of life 16 October 2029. | Asterisk: versions |
The same dates, with the other platforms we track, are on the support-dates page. Product names identify system types only and imply no endorsement or partnership. Entidex Bridge holds no vendor certification.
From 1 September 2026 FreePBX 16 gets only security fixes and commercial improvements. At end of life Sangoma says a version receives no changes of any kind, so a weakness found after that date will not be fixed in that version. On a phone system that can mean toll fraud as well as downtime.
Sangoma's table notes that the SNG7 operating system is already not supported while the FreePBX software is, and gives that as the reason FreePBX 16 may end sooner than 1 January 2027. If your FreePBX 16 runs on SNG7, the operating system is already outside support. Ask your maintainer which system and version yours runs on.
Sangoma lists Asterisk 13 to 20 as the range for FreePBX 16, with 19 and 20 as its targets. For FreePBX 17 the range is 18 to 23, with 21 and 22 as targets. Asterisk keeps its own dates, in the table above, whatever FreePBX does. Check which Asterisk yours runs.
Sangoma's versions page says nothing about module updates, the module repository or commercial module licences once a version reaches end of life, and we found no statement on it in the other Sangoma pages we checked. Ask Sangoma or your maintainer, in writing, what continues after 1 January.
Ownership change. Sangoma announced on 28 September 2026 that an affiliate of BRC Group Holdings will acquire it, with closing expected no later than early 2027. The announcement does not say how FreePBX and Asterisk will be handled, and Sangoma's versions page was last updated on 25 August 2026, before it. Check that page again before you decide.
Your options
None of them is free of trade-offs. Each card says when it fits and what to watch for.
Keep the system as it is, cut its exposure, and plan the move for later.
Good fit if: it is stable, you need some months to plan a proper move, and you can set a date to leave.
Watch for: isolation limits who can reach the system. It does not fix a weakness in FreePBX or Asterisk, and after end of life Sangoma will not change that version at all. At a minimum, ask your provider to confirm in writing that the admin pages and management ports cannot be reached from the internet and that default passwords are gone.
Install FreePBX 17 on a new machine, then restore a Backup & Restore archive from the old system. Sangoma documents no in-place upgrade from earlier versions to 17.
Good fit if: your setup is mostly standard modules and modern SIP trunks, and you can build the new server beside the old one and cut over in a quiet window.
Watch for: Sangoma supports FreePBX 17 only on Debian 12. It ships with Asterisk 22, which has no chan_sip and has dropped the Macro dialplan application, so custom macros must be converted to GoSub. A restore can convert chan_sip extensions and trunks to PJSIP on Asterisk 21 and later. FreePBX 17 itself ends on 30 June 2028, so this buys time, not a long-term answer.
Install FreePBX 17 and re-enter only the settings you still want, instead of restoring everything.
Good fit if: the old system carries years of unused extensions, trunks and custom code that you would rather not bring across.
Watch for: anything nobody wrote down is lost. Opening hours, holiday messages, overflow to mobiles and queues are the settings most often lost in a move, so do the inventory below first.
A provider runs the phone system and your sites connect to it over the internet.
Good fit if: you do not want to own a server and your sites have reliable broadband.
Watch for: your numbers, call recordings, integrations and analogue devices all need a supported path. Fax, door entry and alarm lines usually need an adapter or a different arrangement. Get the cut-over date and the number-port date in writing. Entidex Bridge sells no hosted systems.
Teams Phone needs a licence for each user who has a number, and a route to the phone network. 3CX is licensed once a year per system, sized by simultaneous calls, with a hard maximum number of extensions at each size. See the 3CX and Microsoft pages.
Good fit if: you already work in Microsoft 365, or want a system you run yourself from a different vendor.
Watch for: licence tiers, extension limits, number porting and emergency addresses. They are set out on the Teams or 3CX migration checklist.
If the system connects to the outside world over ISDN or analogue lines, those lines are closing whatever you do with FreePBX.
The dates, and every alarm, lift, door entry and fax line to check, are on the free switch-off checklist.
Before you choose
A move only works if the new system does what the old one did. Most of that is held in settings nobody has looked at for years.
The free switch-off checklist covers the devices; the read-only survey covers the rest, in writing. The switch-off checklist walks through the analogue devices. The read-only survey records your exact platform and version against these dates, your numbers, call flow, recording settings and security exposure by location (never passwords), and builds the analogue-line register. Nothing on the phone system is changed. From £495 + VAT.
Sangoma describes end of life as the point where a version receives no changes of any kind. Its versions page does not describe a shutdown or a licence expiry. The risk is that a weakness found after that date will not be fixed in that version. Sangoma's page does not say what happens to commercial modules, so ask Sangoma or your maintainer in writing.
No. Sangoma marks both FreePBX 16 dates with an asterisk and says FreePBX 16 may reach end of life sooner, because the SNG7 operating system has reached end of life. Its versions page was last updated on 25 August 2026, so check it again before you act.
Sangoma says there is no in-place upgrade path from earlier versions to FreePBX 17. Its recommended route is to install FreePBX 17 on a new system and restore a Backup & Restore archive from the old one.
One that your FreePBX version supports and the Asterisk project still maintains. Asterisk 18 ended on 20 October 2025. Asterisk 22, a long-term-support release, ends on 16 October 2029, which is later than FreePBX 17's own end of life on 30 June 2028.
The announcement does not say. Sangoma announced on 28 September 2026 that an affiliate of BRC Group Holdings will acquire it, with closing expected no later than early 2027. The announcement calls Sangoma the main developer and sponsor of FreePBX and Asterisk and does not say how those projects will be handled. Treat the published dates as current until Sangoma changes its versions page.
No. Entidex Bridge sells no phone systems, lines or handsets, does not port numbers and never changes emergency routing. The read-only survey records what your system does and changes nothing. Your reseller or IT provider supplies the new system and carries out the move.
Every date and fact above was read on the vendor's own page on 16 October 2026. If a date has changed, tell us at hello@entidex.com and we will check it against the source.
General guidance, not advice from Sangoma, the Asterisk project or your provider. Free to share and print. From bridge.entidex.com.