October 2026: Get free Windows 10 Safety Update through 2 methods

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Key takeaways of zdnet

• Windows 10 PC has two free options for extended security updates.
• To qualify for free individual updates, enroll with a Microsoft account.
• One year expansion for consumers ends in October 2026.

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Windows 10 end-of-port date is almost here. In summer, Microsoft feels that the owners of millions of consumers running Windows 10 are not ready to change their old computers, and those customers are not even about a year’s extended security update (ESU) membership of more than $ 30 for thorns.

Also: How to upgrade your ‘inconsistent’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 – for free

Therefore, at the end of June, just a few days before the end of its financial year, the company waved the white flag and announced the new “free enrollment option” for the ESU program, as well as customers will need customers to sign up. Any person is ready to try the cloud-based Windows backup of Microsoft or spend a few minutes per day with a bing search engine over a week, which can avoid $ 30 tariffs and can get free that membership for free using the enrollment wizard shown here.

This news was buried Still another long post on Windows blogOne who admits Windows 11 and encourages customers to upgrade his old PC, buy new, or migrates on cloud-based options such as Windows 365-some but keep running Windows 10.

Also: Can’t upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You have 5 options – and only weeks to work

The announcement that free ESU subscription will be available, tens of millions of consumers apply to PCs that are disqualified for free Windows 11 upgrade because they do not meet compatibility requirements. Enterprise customers, regret, are not eligible for those free options and will need to pay a much higher price for a commercial ESU membership up to three years (starting with $ 61 per device per year, and then doubled each year). They are available through commercial options Microsoft Volume Licensing Program or through Microsoft’s Cloud Service Provider partners.

The ESU coverage for individual devices lasts from October 15, 2025, from October 13, 2026. ESU membership is tied to a Microsoft account. After signing up, the account owner can update the eligibility for 10 PCs if signed in using that account.

Who is the character?

The option to sign up from an individual Windows 10 PC to ESU membership is now roughly available for any PC, which is with the latest update (August 2025 or later) running Windows 10, version 22 H 2, Home, Professional, Pro Education and Workstation versions (later). Enterprises and education versions are not eligible. The option will also be unavailable on any PC that is registered with mobile device management software such as an active directory domain, an entra ID-jubbles or Windows Intune.

(Earlier this year, Microsoft published a support document with full instructions. It has removed the document and included its content in a page with the aim of assuring customers to buy a new PC. The original document is available. This stored page,

Also: Microsoft said that these 400 readers cannot upgrade to Windows 11. They did it anyway

You should be signed with an administrator account. Because ESU membership is associated with a Microsoft account, you will also have to sign in to the Microsoft account as part of the enrollment process.

In addition, Microsoft says, “The ESU program for personal use devices is available in select markets and is not being expanded in additional areas at this time.” I was unable to find a list of countries and regions that are eligible, but if you are out of America or other developed markets, you can be out of luck.

How to sign up

I was able to test the enrollment process on the PC, which runs the Windows 10 Pro release preview version. Sign-up link settings> Windows is available in updates, as shown next:

Clicking “Enroll Nau” opens the enrollment wizard. Because I was signed with a Microsoft account and used Windows backup program to save my settings on the first Microsoft cloud, I was waved with the following message:

If you are signed in with a local account, or if you have not run the Windows backup before, you will have to jump through some additional hops. You will see this page in the nomination wizard instead.

The easiest of the free options is to use Windows Backup to sync your settings on the cloud. If you do not do this, you can redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points or pay $ 30 (outside the US, local pricing will be different).

As I mentioned earlier, this option is only available for “personal use”, a step designed to discourage professional customers from trying to get safety updates at discounts. In small businesses that are not part of a managed microsoft environment, it would be impossible to apply that restriction, so Microsoft has wisely decided to block individual ESU membership only on commercial equipment that are part of a managed enterprise network.

What if you are not seeing ESU offering?

Check that you meet all the requirements, as mentioned above. If yes, be the best advice. Microsoft says that it is slowly rolling these changes, so it may take you some time to get. There is no use to sign up before October 15, and even waiting by the end of October will still allow you to get a general security update on Tuesday in November.

Slightly fixed search registry will change the instructions to edit the registry and run the Powershell command that can force the enrollment proposal to display. In my test, they have not succeeded in shortcuts firmly and have been mostly the source of disappointment. After the end-of-port date, I will update this post with any additional details.

What is the grip with free options?

The use of Windows Backup “seems like a simple option to” sink your settings on the cloud, but this option cannot work for you. As currently it exists, Windows Backup Options also copy individual data in the ondrive cloud storage service. If you have sufficient amount of data and have not been paid for Microsoft 365 Homes or Personal Subscriptions or a Standalone Storage upgrade, you will burn through 5GB of default storage and will probably air with a large disturbance.

Also: Windows 11 upgrade failed? These are my 4 most powerful troubleshooting secrets

Rediming 1,000 microsoft rewards points is a simple option. If you have already created a personal profile using your Microsoft account, you can already get enough points to cover that cost (those points would be slightly lower under $ 1 if Amazon was roasted for gift card). If your Microsoft Rewards Count is starting from zero, you can quickly cover the bill Download Bing App Using it for mobile and for two days (500 marks), then a series of search-based quiz, election and other silly tasks for a few days to deposit 100-200 marks per day to submit 100-200 marks per day Microsoft Award site,

And if none of those options works for you … Okay, it will be $ 30, please.

Also: Consumer Reports Microsoft calls ‘Pakhandi’ for millions of Windows 10 PCs.

These announcements represent a huge climb-down for Microsoft and a taset acknowledgment that the Windows 10 PC population still used in October is likely to be much larger than expected. The new ESU option will not change the end-of-port date for Windows 10, but they offer a year-to-one recurrence to price-sensitive consumers and will take the opportunity to soften the indispensable PR hit for microsoft at the end of 2025.

Note the editor: This article was originally published in June 2025 and has been updated several times to include new development. The most recent update was on September 19, 2025.