Microsoft today reminded customers that Windows 10 has reached end of support and will no longer receive patches for newly discovered security vulnerabilities.
However, although support for Windows 10 has been discontinued, computers running this OS will continue to work, but they will be vulnerable to attacks if they have not upgraded to Windows 11 or migrated to Windows 11 in the cloud with Windows 365.
“Windows 10 has reached end of support on October 14, 2025. At this point, technical support, feature updates, and security updates are no longer provided,” the company said. Said In a support document published on Tuesday.
“Although you can continue to use a PC running Windows 10, without frequent software and security updates, your PC will be at greater risk for viruses and malware. After this date, we recommend upgrading to a version of Windows that is still supported.”
according to steam September 2025 Hardware and Software Survey63.04% of gamers use Windows 11, while only 32.18% still use Windows 10. StatCounter’s global figures also show that Windows 11 finally crossed Windows 10’s install base in June More than 48.94% of all Windows systems are now running Windows 11, compared to 40.5% on Windows 10.
Users who don’t want to switch to Windows 11 can delay Upgrade for another year by Enrollment in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) programWhich costs $30 for home users and $61 per device per year for enterprise customers (doubled each year, to a maximum of 3). Year). For enterprise customers who choose to use ESU for three years, the total cost per device is $427.
The program is also available for free to home users who enroll with Microsoft Rewards points or enable Windows Backup to sync their data to the cloud.
Following pressure from consumer protection organization Euroconsumers, Microsoft has also announced that it will allow individual customers in the European Economic Area (EEA) to enroll in the ESU program for free if they use a Microsoft account to enroll and log in to Windows.
Another option for the Windows 11 switch is Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) releases, Windows versions designed for specialized devices (like medical or industrial equipment) that will continue to receive updates after today.
For example, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 will reach End of servicing in January 2027 (with extended support for IoT Enterprise edition until January 2023), while Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 will be supported Till January 2029.
You can find out more about Windows service expiration dates by using Lifecycle Policy Search Tool or by visiting Windows Lifecycle FAQ Page. Microsoft too is a list of software products It plans to be retired or reach end of support at the end of this year.
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