Warning – End of General Support Before proceeding, it is vital to note that VMware ESXi 6.5 reached End of General Support (EOGS) on October 15, 2022. This means VMware no longer provides technical support, bug fixes, or security patches for this version. It is recommended for legacy hardware support or isolated testing environments only. For production, VMware ESXi 7.0 or 8.0 is strongly advised.

(VMware occasionally removes old builds, but 6.5 remains as of 2026 for technical users).

Yes, you can still download ESXi 6.5 from VMware’s official site with a free account, but use it only for offline legacy practice. Do not deploy it in any connected production environment in 2026.

VMware software is proprietary. You cannot legally download ESXi 6.5 from third-party "mirror" sites if you intend to use it for production, as these may contain modified code. You must source the binary through official Broadcom/VMware channels.

Official access is now restricted based on licensing and entitlement.