Is the Cisco Meraki MS42 end of life?
Yes — Cisco announced end-of-sale for the MS42-HW on Nov 5, 2013. The last day to order was Apr 26, 2014. Support ended on Apr 26, 2021; the device is past end-of-support.
| Status | Announced | End of sale | End of support |
|---|---|---|---|
| unsupported | Nov 5, 2013 | Apr 26, 2014 | Apr 26, 2021 |
Suggested replacement
The notice itself names one replacement: MS125-48-HW
Source: the Cisco end-of-sale notice this page was transcribed from — where the two disagree, the notice is right and this page is stale. Full matrix: Switch (MS) · every Meraki EOL announcement.
Can you still buy licenses for the MS42?
Yes. Cisco Meraki's EOL policy keeps device licenses orderable after end-of-sale unless the license itself is end-of-life'd — and these MS42 renewal SKUs are active on Cisco's price list as of our latest weekly validation:
LIC-MS42-10YR · $973.04 LIC-MS42-1YR · $129.70 LIC-MS42-3YR · $291.97 LIC-MS42-5YR · $486.24 LIC-MS42-7YR · $681.08
What a license buys for hardware past end-of-support: the device keeps checking into the dashboard and doing its job, but per Cisco Meraki's EOL policy Cisco "cannot guarantee that legacy hardware products will be able to connect to the management software indefinitely", technical support may no longer troubleshoot it, and firmware updates may no longer be issued. If a legacy device can no longer connect, Cisco's stated remedy is best efforts toward an upgrade path or a prorated credit of the remaining license term — so the money is protected by policy even on a long term. If the MS42 is doing its job today, renewing keeps it alive; for a long term, price the suggested replacement alongside before deciding.