SDK Release and Maintenance Policy

A supported SDK is eligible for technical support from Silicon Labs and eligible for software patches to fix issues. Technical questions on Silicon Labs hardware and software products are supported through the Silicon Labs community and support resources.

Beginning with Simplicity SDK 2026.6, Silicon Labs is introducing a predictable biannual Simplicity SDK release model with two release types: a June LTS release and a December Interim release.The June LTS release receives 30 months of standard maintenance and is the recommended baseline for production programs. The December Interim release receives 6 months of standard maintenance and is intended for prototyping, early feature access, and development work that will move to a later LTS release.

The annual LTS cadence creates an overlapping chain of supported SDK releases. This gives customers more predictable opportunities to qualify updates, plan migrations, and maintain secure products over time.

For customers who cannot migrate on the standard timeline, SEMS may provide an additional path to extend critical maintenance for a specific SDK branch.

SDK releases before Simplicity SDK 2026.6 continue to follow their original published maintenance dates.

If your project is intended for production, start with the latest LTS release whenever possible. The LTS release is the recommended production baseline because it receives the longest standard maintenance window and is the focus for long-term stability.

If you need new feature or device support that is only available in an Interim release, you may start development on the Interim release. In that case, plan to move to the next appropriate LTS release for production or longer-term support.

Continue using the SDK release that was validated for your deployed product while it remains within its maintenance window and stay current with the latest patch available for that release.

When that release approaches the end of maintenance, migrate to a supported SDK release or work with Silicon Labs to evaluate SEMS if you need to remain on the same SDK branch.

You are not required to switch, but the Interim release is not intended to be a long-term production baseline. Since Interim releases receive 6 months of standard maintenance, production programs should plan to move to an LTS release for longer-term support.

There is no set patch schedule. Patches are made available as issues are discovered, assessed, prioritized, and resolved.

Customers should use the latest patch available for their chosen supported SDK release.

LTS maintenance is focused on stability, security, and compatibility. Patches may include critical security fixes, high-impact bug fixes, planned maintenance updates, and other updates needed to keep the release suitable for production programs.

LTS patches are designed to preserve existing application compatibility and minimize disruptive changes for customers already using that LTS release.

High-impact issues include critical and blocker-level bugs and security vulnerabilities. Silicon Labs determines the issue level based on severity and impact to customers and their products. Our intention is to balance the needs of all customers while providing high-quality, stable releases.

First, check the release notes for your software to see if it is a known issue. Next, search for solutions or report an issue through the Silicon Labs community and support resources.

After the standard maintenance period ends, Silicon Labs no longer provides maintenance patches for that release. Customers should migrate to a supported SDK release before the maintenance end date.If migration is not practical and the customer needs to remain on that specific SDK branch, SEMS may be available to extend maintenance for that release under a commercial agreement.

SEMS is Silicon Labs' SDK Extended Maintenance Service. It is a commercial agreement that enables customers to extend maintenance for a specific SDK release beyond the standard maintenance window.

A customer should consider SEMS when they need to avoid an SDK branch migration for a deployed or soon-to-ship product but still require access to critical security patches and bug fixes for that specific SDK branch.

Customers who believe they need SEMS should contact their Silicon Labs sales representative, account team, or field application engineer. Silicon Labs will work with the customer to review the SDK release, products, devices, support needs, and available service options.

Simplicity SDK is an embedded software development platform for building IoT products based on Series 2 and Series 3 wireless and MCU devices. It integrates wireless protocol stacks, middleware, peripheral drivers, bootloader support, application examples, and tools integration in a production-quality framework for building power-optimized and secure IoT devices.

Simplicity SDK is a follow-on to the widely adopted Gecko SDK. As Series 2 and Series 3 devices and wireless technology continue to evolve, new features for those devices will be introduced through Simplicity SDK releases.

Yes. Gecko SDK LTS support and maintenance continue for customers using active Series 0 and Series 1 devices.

GSDK 4.5 LTS is a long-term support release for active Series 0 and Series 1 devices that are not supported by Simplicity SDK. This release provides ongoing maintenance for devices that remain active and are not classified as Not Recommended for New Designs (NRND) or End of Life (EOL).

No. New features for Series 2 devices and Series 3 devices will be introduced through Simplicity SDK releases. Customers seeking the latest features and ongoing support for Series 2 and Series 3 devices are encouraged to adopt or migrate to Simplicity SDK.

Customers using Series 1 devices can continue using Gecko SDK 4.5 LTS.