Microsoft really wants you to upgrade to Windows 11, but there’s one more lease on life for Windows 10
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It’s a testament to how unenthusiastic many people were about upgrading to Windows 11 that Microsoft has put off ending support for Windows 10 for so long, despite threatening to for years. That day is on the horizon, however, with full support ending on the 14th of October, 2025, although the company has given users a bit of grace time to continue using Windows 10 with partial support thanks to their Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.
Support for Windows 10 officially ends on October 14th
- Microsoft has confirmed it will cease providing security patches, feature improvements, and technical assistance for devices running Windows 10 from October 14th, 2025. While these systems will remain operational, they will no longer benefit from routine security protections, increasing their risk of exposure to cyberattacks such as viruses and malicious software.
- Businesses and institutions still utilizing Windows 10 could face obstacles in upholding regulatory requirements, as the software will be classified as unsupported.
- Without ongoing feature enhancements, applications designed for Windows 10 might become less reliable or lose some capabilities over time, particularly as developers shift their support toward newer platforms.
- That said, Microsoft 365 apps installed on both home and enterprise versions of Windows 10 will continue to get security updates until October 10th, 2028, and feature updates through August 2026. These updates are intended to ease the migration process to Windows 11 and will be distributed through regular update channels. However, they do not include access to technical support.
- Moreover, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will keep receiving Security Intelligence Updates on Windows 10 devices through October 2028.
Microsoft Extended Security Updates (ESU) program
The ESU will continue to provide ‘critical and important security updates’ to Windows 10 users who sign up for it until October 13th, 2026. For individuals, to enrol, you must go to Settings, click on the enrolment wizard, and choose one of the following methods:
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- Use Windows Backup to sync your settings to the cloud (free)
- Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points at no additional cost
- Pay $30 USD (local pricing may vary)
You can read more about this, along with the methodology required for commercial organizations and cloud and virtual environments, on the official blog post on the subject.
Why are people resisting upgrading to Windows 11?
Many users feel like Windows 11 doesn’t offer enough improvements for them to bother with the upgrade; in fact, there are various areas in which the newer OS is considered worse. From a user interface perspective, various aspects of the redesign, particularly the altered taskbar, have sparked resistance from various users who prefer the one in Windows 10.
Additionally, many people are not fond of the apparent increase in bloatware, the increased number of bugs, higher system requirements, and frequently slower performance, although many of these problems have been and will hopefully continue to be ironed out over time.
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