GPT-5.5 leaves ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex on 2026-10-14 — the API is excluded
Which three surfaces lose it — and why the API does not
OpenAI's release notes retire GPT-5.5 from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex (ChatGPT sign-in) across plans on 2026-10-14, and the same entry states "This retirement does not apply to the OpenAI API". Codex users are told to move to gpt-5.6-sol.
Updated 2026-09-18
Four key points
Retirement date
Marked Scheduled in the official release notes.
Where it goes away
ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex when signed in with a ChatGPT account.
OpenAI API
Official line: This retirement does not apply to the OpenAI API.
Official replacement
Codex is told to switch from gpt-5.5 to gpt-5.6-sol.
What this is
This is a scheduled model retirement, not an outage. The scope is written against three ChatGPT-family surfaces and the API is explicitly carved out. What actually decides your workload is how Codex authenticates: ChatGPT sign-in (affected) or API key (not affected).
What happened
Checked 2026-09-18 against the official release notes: the gpt-5.5 entry is Scheduled with an effective date of 2026-10-14, and the action OpenAI names is changing model to gpt-5.6-sol.
Timeline
2026-09-18 re-check: the retirement entry is marked Scheduled in the official release notes.
2026-10-14 GPT-5.5 leaves ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex; the same sentence excludes the OpenAI API.
2026-11-21 is at least how long gpt-5.6-sol keeps its promotional price (pricing page archived 2026-09-12).
Confirmed vs caution
Officially confirmed
Official release notes: GPT-5.5 exits ChatGPT / ChatGPT Work / Codex (all plans) on 2026-10-14; the retirement does not apply to the OpenAI API; Codex is advised to switch from gpt-5.5 to gpt-5.6-sol.
⚠️ Caution
OpenAI has not stated when or whether gpt-5.5 leaves the API, nor whether there is a grace period after 2026-10-14. Any claim that "5.5 is dead after 2026-10-14" goes beyond the source text.
Same vs differs
Same
ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex all sit on the ChatGPT account system, so one retirement covers all three; the named replacement is the same model family.
Differs
The OpenAI API is explicitly outside the scope — that one sentence is the carve-out API users need.
What to do
Three steps: 1) confirm how your Codex authenticates; 2) change gpt-5.5 to gpt-5.6-sol in config and re-run a non-trivial task to compare behaviour; 3) if you must stay on 5.5, move to API-key mode — the official entry excludes the API.
On QCode
On QCode both gpt-5.5 and gpt-5.6-sol are settable API ids with real 30-day traffic, and one key switches between them. This is the API side, which the retirement does not touch.
FAQ
Will GPT-5.5 be unusable after 2026-10-14?
No. The scope is ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex, with "This retirement does not apply to the OpenAI API". OpenAI has not given an API removal date.
Does my Codex count as affected?
Depends on authentication: Codex signed in with a ChatGPT account is affected; API-key mode is not. The advised change is model = gpt-5.6-sol.
Does moving to gpt-5.6-sol cost more?
The pricing page archived 2026-09-12 lists gpt-5.6-sol at $4 / $20 per 1M tokens, promotional at least through 2026-11-21. Treat the official pricing page as authoritative.
Can I keep both?
Yes, via different channels: 5.6-sol on the ChatGPT-signed-in side, 5.5 over an API key for workloads that must stay. Don't mix them in one profile.
Is this an outage?
No, it is a registered retirement. The real failure shape is "Selected model is at capacity. Please try a different model" — a capacity signal, covered in related reading.
Did OpenAI name other replacements?
The entry names only gpt-5.6-sol as the action. Anything else is your own choice, not official guidance.
Sources
OpenAI official Release Notes (Codex entry) and the pricing page archive, captured 2026-09-18. Scope follows the release notes.
Compare 5.5 and 5.6-sol on one key
Switch by model id; the API side is untouched by this retirement.
Related
Codex "at capacity" error
A capacity signal, not a retirement or a quota.
What "GPT-6 Sol" actually is
A community label, not an OpenAI model.
GPT-6 Astra quota burn
Real usage shape on the sibling tier.
This page restates only the official retirement entry and official pricing figures. Effective dates follow the official pages.