Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Replacement — What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Apr 2027) — unsupported units need a plan. Cisco's own end-of-life bulletin names the successor below — quoted from the source, with the successor's live support status where EOSL.ai tracks it.
The Cisco-named replacement
per-model mapping in the bulletin — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
model-dependent — per-model mapping in the bulletin — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series and Cisco Catalyst 9300/9300X and 9500 are not yet tracked on EOSL.ai — no vendor end-of-life notice has been captured for them, which is typical of current products.
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper SKUs | Oct 2020 | Oct 2025 | bulletin ↗ |
| Fiber (SFP/SFP+) SKUs | Apr 2022 | Apr 2027 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (58)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| WS-C3850-24T-L | C9300-24T-E | |
| WS-C3850-24T-S | C9300-24T-A | |
| WS-C3850-24T-E | C9300-24T-A | |
| WS-C3850-48T-L | C9300-48T-E | |
| WS-C3850-48T-S | C9300-48T-A | |
| WS-C3850-48T-E | C9300-48T-A | |
| WS-C3850-24P-L | C9300-24P-E | |
| WS-C3850-24P-S | C9300-24P-A | |
| WS-C3850-24P-E | C9300-24P-A | |
| WS-C3850-48P-L | C9300-48P-E | |
| WS-C3850-48P-S | C9300-48P-A | |
| WS-C3850-48P-E | C9300-48P-A | |
| WS-C3850-48F-L | C9300-48P-E | |
| WS-C3850-48F-S | C9300-48P-A | |
| WS-C3850-48F-E | C9300-48P-A | |
| WS-C3850-24U-L | C9300-24U-E | |
| WS-C3850-24U-S | C9300-24U-A | |
| WS-C3850-24U-E | C9300-24U-A | |
| WS-C3850-48U-L | C9300-48U-E | |
| WS-C3850-48U-S | C9300-48U-A | |
| WS-C3850-48U-E | C9300-48U-A | |
| WS-C3850-12X48U-L | C9300-48UXM-E | |
| WS-C3850-12X48U-S | C9300-48UXM-A | |
| WS-C3850-12X48U-E | C9300-48UXM-A | |
| WS-C3850-24XU-L | C9300-24U-E | |
| WS-C3850-24XU-S | C9300-24U-A | |
| WS-C3850-24XU-E | C9300-24U-A | |
| C1-WS3850-24P/K9 | C9300-24P-A | |
| C1-WS3850-24T/K9 | C9300-24T-A | |
| C1-WS3850-24U/K9 | C9300-24U-A | |
| C1-WS3850-48F/K9 | C9300-48P-A | |
| C1-WS3850-48P/K9 | C9300-48P-A | |
| C1-WS3850-48T/K9 | C9300-48T-A | |
| C1-WS3850-48U/K9 | C9300-48U-A | |
| C1-WSC3850-12X48UL | C9300-48UXM-A | |
| C1-WSC3850-24XUL | C9300-24UX-A | |
| WS-C3850-12S-E | C9300-24S | |
| WS-C3850-12S-S | C9300-24S | |
| WS-C3850-12XS-E | C9300X-12Y | |
| WS-C3850-12XS-S | C9300X-12Y | |
| WS-C3850-16XS-E | C9300X-12Y | |
| WS-C3850-16XS-S | C9300X-12Y | |
| WS-C3850-24S-E | C9300-24S | |
| WS-C3850-24S-S | C9300-24S | |
| WS-C3850-24XS-E | C9300X-24Y | |
| WS-C3850-24XS-S | C9300X-24Y | |
| WS-C3850-32XS-E | C9300X-24Y | |
| WS-C3850-32XS-S | C9300X-24Y | |
| WS-C3850-48XS-E | C9500-48Y4C | |
| WS-C3850-48XS-F-E | C9500-48Y4C | |
| WS-C3850-48XS-F-S | C9500-48Y4C | |
| WS-C3850-48XS-S | C9500-48Y4C | |
| C1-WS3850-12S/K9 | C9300-24S | |
| C1-WS3850-12XS-S | C9300X-12Y | |
| C1-WS3850-24S/K9 | C9300-24S | |
| C1-WSC3850-24XS-S | C9300X-24Y | |
| C1-WSC3850-48XS-FS | C9500-48Y4C | |
| C1-WSC3850-48XS-S | C9500-48Y4C |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series and Cisco Catalyst 9300/9300X and 9500 as the recommended migration path for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Apr 2027) — unsupported units need a plan. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-catalyst-3850/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 3850 Series?
Yes — the bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 58 SKUs (for example WS-C3850-24T-L → C9300-24T-E). The full table is on this page.
Do I have to buy the Cisco-recommended replacement?
No. The bulletin's named successor is Cisco's suggested path, not an obligation. Teams also keep 3850 Series units running under third-party maintenance after the support cutoff, migrate to a different vendor, or run low-criticality units to failure with the risk documented. See the support-options guide for the trade-offs.