Apple pulls the plug on its Support Community forums after 28 years

Apple is closing its official support forums The site will shut its doors on November 20 You can no longer make new posts or reply to existing threads If you’ve ever had a problem with an iPhone , Mac or other Apple device, chances are you’ve gone to the official Apple Support forums for help.

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Apple is closing its official support forums</strong></li><li><strong>The site will shut its doors on November 20</strong></li><li><strong>You can no longer make new posts or reply to existing threads</strong></li></ul><p>If you’ve ever had a problem with an <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/best-iphone">iPhone</a>, Mac or other Apple device, chances are you’ve gone to the <a href="https://discussions.apple.com/welcome" target="_blank">official Apple Support forums</a> for help. Well, not for much longer, as Apple has just announced it is closing the message boards with almost immediate effect — marking the end of almost 30 years of people helping each other find solutions to their iDevice issues. </p><p>Users visiting the forums are now greeted with the following message from Apple: </p><p>“The AppleCare 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. You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official <a href="http://support.apple.com/" target="_blank">Apple Support site</a>.” </p><p>The post finished by saying: “We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.” </p><p>Apple has already barred people from making new posts or replying to existing threads, meaning the support forums are essentially in a state of suspended animation. There was no warning of the move and Apple didn’t give a reason for the closure, making it an abrupt ending for a resource that has existed in one form or another since 1998, when it was known as the Apple Tech Exchange.</p><h2 id="a-mixed-response">A mixed response</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check="" ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1120px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="UszXSA7cKTJrTZP25w7CEn" name="Apple Support header" alt="Various Apple feature logos against a blue background." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UszXSA7cKTJrTZP25w7CEn-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1120" height="630" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline" /></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Apple)</span></figcaption></figure><p>For many people, Apple’s official support forums were a good place to find answers to their tech problems. Not only were they frequented by knowledgeable customers, but company representatives often chimed in with helpful advice and suggestions. </p><p>Now that’s been suddenly shut down, leaving many people disappointed. “A shame. Some good stuff on there when Googling for help” said one user on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1xt6ud0/apple_support_communities_has_closed_shuts_down/" target="_blank">Reddit</a>, for example. “There was so much good advice on there” added another. </p><p>However, some Reddit users weren’t sad to see the community go, with many commenting on their poor experiences and the lack of helpful responses they received when turning to the Apple Support forum. "Good riddance" as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1xt6ud0/apple_support_communities_has_closed_shuts_down/" target="_blank">one commenter</a> put it, while another said the forum was "routinely a useless top hit on Google". While we can’t know Apple’s reasoning for sure, perhaps the forums’ limited utility played into it. </p><p>Whatever the case, the official Apple Support community is on the way out. You’ve only got until November 20 to find an answer there before it goes offline for good, taking with it 28 years of tech support knowhow.</p> </article> ]]>