The Apple Support Community closes Nov. 20. Here’s how to save the answers you still need

The Apple Support Community, the forum where Apple users have answered each other’s questions for years, stopped taking new posts this week and will close for good on Nov. 20, 2026. If you have ever fixed an iPhone, Mac or AirPods problem with a tip from a stranger in that forum, you have about a week to save the answers you still use.

What Apple announced about the Support Community

A notice now sits at the top of the forum. 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 same notice says people can “continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.” You can read it on the Apple Support Community page.

Apple did not give a reason in the notice. It also did not say whether threads will be archived somewhere else, so the safe plan is to treat Nov. 20 as the last day you can open them.

What changes for you: the forum was where you found the odd fixes that never make it into an official help article, like a strange Bluetooth bug on one Mac model or a setting that only shows up after an update. If you bookmarked one of those threads, the bookmark will most likely stop working after Nov. 20.

How to save Apple Support Community answers before Nov. 20

It takes about a minute per thread. Start with the ones you have bookmarked or come back to more than once.

1. On a Mac: open the thread in Safari, click File in the menu bar, then Export as PDF. Save it in a folder you will remember, such as Documents.
2. On a Windows PC or in Chrome: open the thread, press Ctrl+P (Command+P on a Mac), choose Save as PDF as the printer, then click Save.
3. On an iPhone or iPad: open the thread in Safari, take a screenshot, tap the preview, choose Full Page at the top, then save it as a PDF to the Files app.
4. Name each file clearly, such as “AirPods pairing fix.pdf”, so you can search for it later.

If a thread is long, scroll to the reply marked as the solution first. That is usually the only part you need to keep.

Where to get Apple help after the forum closes

Apple’s own contact page lists the official routes. Here is how they compare for everyday problems.

• The Apple Support site: step-by-step articles for common problems, searchable by device. Best when you already know what the problem is called.
• The Apple Support app: Apple says you can ask questions over chat, start a repair and watch how-to videos in the app. Best when you want a person to look at your specific problem.
• Phone support: in the US the number is 1-800-MY-APPLE. Apple’s contact page lists the number for other countries.
• In-store help: you can make a Genius Bar reservation at an Apple Store for in-person support and repairs with genuine Apple parts. Bring your Apple Account password, because you will need it.

The trade-off is speed versus depth. The forum was open around the clock and full of people who had hit the exact same bug. Official support is more reliable, but you will often have to explain your problem from the start, and some fixes the forum knew about are not written down anywhere else. That is the main reason to save the threads you care about now.

Before you contact Apple Support, have this ready

• Your device’s model and the software version (Settings, then General, then About on an iPhone).
• When the problem started and what changed around then, such as an update or a new accessory.
• The PDF of any forum thread that describes the same problem. Showing a support advisor what already worked for other people can save time.

For more on keeping your Apple account in good shape, see our guides on the iCloud sharing check coming in iOS 27.3, handling iPhone subscription cancel offers and what to do if your iPhone Duo screen cracks.