New Software Assurance entitlement for old servers?

Audio, video and telephony - Asked by gippslandfm on Friday, 11 November, 2016 - 15:24

I have Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials installed. Unfortunately its developed a non-critical fault which I would like to get Microsoft support for, but my Software Assurance has now lapsed (by only 2 months!) so it's my understanding I would have to pay per incident now. Could I use ConnectingUp to purchase Windows Server 2016 Essentials with Software Assurance, and use that to get free support for my existing Windows Server 2012 R2 installation? In effect, the purchased license would be like having a downgraded version installation. But I'm not sure if I'd be denied support because the assurance would only apply to 2016 version (or later)? This is obviously much cheaper that per incident and gives me unlimited web support support for 2 years rather than just 1 incident. Thoughts?