Microsoft – What happens when Windows 10 loses support

Microsoft – What happens when Windows 10 loses support

Problem

A customer wishes to know exactly what will happen when Windows 10 loses general support by Microsoft.

Applies to

  1. Windows 10

Resolution

  1. Microsoft have signalled their intention to cease mainstream support for Windows 10 on October 14th 2025.
  2. This means there will be no more free security updates available for the operating system and this policy is unlikely to change.  Your Windos 10 installation will continue to run as normal after the 14th October but you will not see any security updates available.  This means the system may become more vulnerable to external attacks over time as security holes go unpatched.  Therefore the best advice is to upgrade yoru machine to the new Windows 11 operating system if that is possible.  Sometimes a Windows 10 PC may not be capacble of being upgraded to Windows 11, in such cases one may need to purchase a new system.

Alternatives to upgrade to Windows 11

  1. Microsoft have provided an option for those who are unable to upgrade their system to Windows 11 by October 14th.  Microsoft offer a paid subscription offering to consumers updates until approximately April 2026 to receive Extended Support Updates, please see Windows 10 Consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program page.


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