The big problem is that shared clipboard does not work inside VirtualBox VM…
It is not clear how to work with a password manager that is on the host system
It is not an option to install your own password manager in each VM
You need to send a popup to all those still on Whonix 17 telling them they need to uninstall Whonix 17 and then re-install Whonix which will install Whonix 18. Anyone new to Whonix doesn’t understand that they need to completely uninstall whonix and then re-install it to get Whonix 18.
These two parts of the announcement seem to contradict one another. The first part states that Whonix 17 be deprecated on 2026-02-06, but the second part states that Whonix 17 will be supported on Qubes 4.2 until Qubes 4.2 reaches EOL, which is currently scheduled for 2026-06-21 (six months after the release of Qubes 4.3, per the standard Qubes release support policy).
This is causing Qubes 4.2 users to become confused, because they mistakenly interpret this announcement to mean that they can’t continue to use Whonix 17 on Qubes 4.2, but when they investigate what they can do, they learn that Whonix 18 isn’t available on Qubes 4.2, so they infer that their only option is to upgrade to Qubes 4.3:
Non-Qubes, end of support for Whonix 17 is the stated EOL date of 06 Feburary 2026.
Qubes (and only Qubes), end of support for Whonix 17 is the EOL date of Qubes R4.2, i.e., Whonix 17 on Qubes is supported longer than Whonix 17 on other platforms.
Maybe it would be better if it was worded similar to “On Qubes OS, version 17 will be supported for as long as Qubes R4.2 receives security support from Qubes and Debian. The EOL date for Whonix 17 on other platforms does not apply to Qubes.” @Patrick, thoughts?
It sounds like Whonix 17 has different EOL dates on different platforms. If that’s the case, I think the announcement should just clearly state that, e.g.:
Whonix release
Platform
EOL date
Whonix 17
Non-Qubes
2026-02-06
Whonix 17
Qubes
2026-06-21
Non-Qubes side note: I noticed that many of the confused users (see links above) seem to think that Whonix 17 has already reached EOL. I suspect this is because of the way the title and the first sentence are worded:
This makes it sound like Whonix 17 is deprecated concurrently with this announcement. It might be clearer to use words like “upcoming” or “soon” to indicate that it hasn’t happened yet.
Maybe not “must” but wholeheartedly recommend to upgrade.
I couldn’t think of a better wording.
Another footnote to elaborate will be added to the wiki:
Why? Because it includes much newer software packages. That is what developers are using and where the development focus lies. Kicksecure is a small project and does not have a dedicated team for oldstable support. Therefore, oldstable support is maintained as a side project.
I think what we’re wrestling with here is “how do we tell users in a way they will understand, that Whonix 17 is still supported on Qubes R4.2 and will be for a while yet, while also strongly encouraging them to move to Qubes R4.3 and Whonix 18 as soon as they reasonably can?” I think we’ve managed to drive home the “really, you should upgrade now if possible” point, but at the expense of making users believe they have no other choice. They do have another choice, if there’s a security vulnerability in Whonix 17 for Qubes it will be fixed even past the usual Whonix 17 EOL date, but we really would like for support requests and similar for Whonix 17 to stop since we aren’t doing any more work to develop it other than security support.
IMO “as soon as possible” is stronger than what we had already, which only makes things worse. Suggested draft that might be clearer:
Whonix 17 End of Security Support and Deprecation Notice - Upgrade Soon
As per Whonix Support Schedule, this post serves as the Whonix version 17 deprecation notice.
Whonix 18 stable has been released for all platforms.
Whonix 17 will be deprecated for non-Qubes platforms on 06 February 2026. For Qubes-Whonix on Qubes R4.2, Whonix 17 will be deprecated on 2026-06-21.
All users, regardless of platform, should strongly consider updating at the earliest possible convenience. After the deprecation date for each platform, security fixes will no longer be created for Whonix 17, and it may become difficult or even impossible to perform an in-place release upgrade to Whonix 18.
This avoids the confusing “platform specific notice”, makes the EOL dates for each platform clear, should get across what their options are, and still give them the firm nudge in the direction of “upgrade sooner rather than later”.