From a76164519a268fc99348cf09813e82286f8ff40e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Harini Malothu <hmalothu@microsoft.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:02:14 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Update warning deprecating paper

---
 .../cli/src/commands/initWindows/initWindows.ts          | 9 +++++++++
 .../cli/src/utils/oldArchWarning.ts                      | 8 +-------
 2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/commands/initWindows/initWindows.ts b/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/commands/initWindows/initWindows.ts
index 0fbd9d8994a..807e0c1b498 100644
--- a/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/commands/initWindows/initWindows.ts
+++ b/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/commands/initWindows/initWindows.ts
@@ -161,6 +161,15 @@ export class InitWindows {
 
     spinner.info(`Using template '${this.options.template}'...`);
     if (!this.templates.has(this.options.template.replace(/[\\]/g, '/'))) {
+      // Check if user is trying to use an old architecture template
+      const isOldArchTemplate = this.options.template.startsWith('old');
+      if (isOldArchTemplate) {
+        showOldArchitectureWarning();
+        throw new CodedError(
+          'InvalidTemplateName',
+          `The template '${this.options.template}' is no longer available. Please use 'cpp-app' template instead.`,
+        );
+      }
       throw new CodedError(
         'InvalidTemplateName',
         `Unable to find template '${this.options.template}'.`,
diff --git a/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/utils/oldArchWarning.ts b/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/utils/oldArchWarning.ts
index c055ca56c35..755c9fde834 100644
--- a/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/utils/oldArchWarning.ts
+++ b/packages/@react-native-windows/cli/src/utils/oldArchWarning.ts
@@ -12,13 +12,7 @@ import chalk from 'chalk';
 export function showOldArchitectureWarning(): void {
   console.log(
     chalk.yellow(
-      `⚠️ This project is using the React Native (for Windows) Old Architecture. The old architecture will begin to be removed starting with react-native-windows@0.82.0.`,
-    ),
-  );
-  console.log();
-  console.log(
-    chalk.cyan(
-      '💡 It is strongly recommended to move to the new architecture as soon as possible to take advantage of improved performance, long-term support, and modern capabilities.',
+      `⚠️ The old architecture (Paper) is not supported in RNW version v0.82. Please enable your projects using new architecture (Fabric).`,
     ),
   );
   console.log();

From 8a55a407167280014da07131812595c6df8ebf81 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Harini Malothu <hmalothu@microsoft.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:23:58 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Change files

---
 ...e-windows-cli-4ed0aa4e-12d6-4d3c-9786-3cc5d30d7ec2.json | 7 +++++++
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 change/@react-native-windows-cli-4ed0aa4e-12d6-4d3c-9786-3cc5d30d7ec2.json

diff --git a/change/@react-native-windows-cli-4ed0aa4e-12d6-4d3c-9786-3cc5d30d7ec2.json b/change/@react-native-windows-cli-4ed0aa4e-12d6-4d3c-9786-3cc5d30d7ec2.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..88cec21c9a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/change/@react-native-windows-cli-4ed0aa4e-12d6-4d3c-9786-3cc5d30d7ec2.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "type": "none",
+  "comment": "Update warning deprecating paper",
+  "packageName": "@react-native-windows/cli",
+  "email": "hmalothu@microsoft.com",
+  "dependentChangeType": "none"
+}