HTTP Data Collector API - Hard Stop or End Support

Hello Babeu, Iain

The most definitive and recently updated source on this is the official migration guide, which clearly states:

"Support for the legacy Data Collector API ends September 14, 2026. Existing ingestion continues to work, but the API only receives critical security fixes."

It further clarifies:

"Two dates affect Data Collector API ingestion. On March 1, 2026, the API endpoint stopped accepting legacy TLS versions; clients that don't negotiate TLS 1.2 or later can't ingest data. On September 14, 2026, the API is deprecated but ingestion continues for TLS compliant clients."

So, to directly answer your question — September 14, 2026 is not a hard stop for ingestion. Data ingestion will continue to work for clients that are using TLS 1.2 or later. What ends on that date is official support, meaning no new features and no bug fixes only critical security patches.

That said, Microsoft is not committing to keeping the legacy endpoint running indefinitely beyond that date. Since the API will be unsupported with no SLA coverage, it's strongly recommended to migrate to the Logs Ingestion API with DCR-based ingestion as soon as possible to avoid any risk of disruption down the line.

Official documentation for reference:

• Migrate from the HTTP Data Collector API to the Logs Ingestion API — this is the primary migration guide with the clearest language on what happens on September 14, 2026. [learn.microsoft.com]

Hope this clears things up. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.

Thanks,

Suchitra.

Hi Suchitra,

I have the same concern with your reply that I had with the one AI generated when I was initially posting. It does not provide a balancing source to break the tie between two (now firmly) contradictory sources, or even mention the retirement announcement language.

The retirement announcement says:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/?updateType=retirements&searchterms=retirement+data

"On 14 September 2026, we’ll retire Data Collector API for ingesting custom logs to Azure Monitor logs. Before that date, you’ll need to transition to the Data Collection Rules based log ingestion API that provides all the functionality of the Data Collector API, as well as new ones, including: 

Secure token-based authentication 

Full control over the shape of the destination table 

Ability to filter and transform data during ingestion 

Required action  

To avoid ingestion errors and data loss, transition to the DCR-based Log Ingestion API before 14 September 2026. Data Collector API endpoints will become unavailable after the cut over date. 

Help and Support  " [emphasis mine]

I appreciate that the Migration Guide is now clearer in terms of what will happen, but I would like to know if anyone has spoken with the monitoring team and can confirm that the retirement announcement language is either wrong or out-dated.

Sincerely,

Iain

Hello Babeu, Iain

I have reached out to you for few of the details via Privat message, Could you please have a look into it?

Hello Babeu, Iain

 I raised this behavior directly with the Azure Monitor backend team to get clarity on the contradictory documentation, and here's the confirmed response:

Confirmed Behavior on September 14, 2026:

September 14, 2026 is not a hard stop for ingestion. The Data Collector API endpoints will not completely stop accepting data on that date.

Ingestion will continue to work for clients using TLS 1.2 or later. What ends is official support meaning no new features, no bug fixes, and only critical security fixes going forward. This aligns with a soft deprecation model.

The retirement announcement language is outdated. The Azure Updates retirement announcement (September 2023) stating*"Data Collector API endpoints will become unavailable after the cut over date"* predates the more current and detailed guidance. The most recently updated Microsoft Learn documentation (last updated May 2026) provides the accurate and current expected behavior, which confirms continued ingestion after the retirement date.

Even though ingestion continues, migrating to the Logs Ingestion API (DCR-based) before the retirement date is still strongly recommended to avoid any risk of operating on an unsupported API with no SLA coverage.

Official Reference:  Migrate from the HTTP Data Collector API to the Logs Ingestion API 

Hope this gives you the definitive clarity you were looking for. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks,

Suchitra.