If you are downloading ESXi 6.5 for legacy purposes, proceed with the understanding that it is an "End of Life" product. If your hardware supports it, downloading (or newer) is significantly more secure and offers better container support (vSphere with Tanzu) and performance improvements.
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. esxi 6.5 download
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. If you are downloading ESXi 6
Here’s a useful, step-by-step write-up on downloading VMware ESXi 6.5, including important context about its legacy status and where to find it legitimately. Do not deploy it in any connected production