Microsoft has confirmed that it will officially stop supporting Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. However, for those who are in a desperate situation and need to continue using this older operating system instead of upgrading to Windows 11, there is now the option to pay to extend the expiration date, the company announced.
This program, known as ESU (Extended Security Update), will be available to both individual users and corporate customers for up to three years. In the past, this has been an option limited to business facilities. The Windows community has previously asked for such an option, and now Microsoft is responding.
This announced initiative will benefit those who are unable to upgrade to Windows 11 due to using older and less secure hardware, including PCs without a TPM security chip or those using older processors. However, the program is also in Microsoft’s interest in at least two ways: it encourages users to upgrade to the latest version of the operating system, and it is an additional source of revenue. However, these revenues are expected to be less significant than the amounts obtained from corporations that want to extend OS support to hundreds or even thousands of PCs.
Those who want to maintain Windows 10 with security updates after October 2025 will have to invest financially. For the first year, the cost will be $61 per system. For a home user, this may seem reasonable, especially as it may be more advantageous than buying a new computer to upgrade to Windows 11, given the incompatibility of the hardware. However, the cost doubles in the second year to $122 per year per system. In the third year of extended support, the rate increases to $244 per year.
Starting in October 2024, companies will be able to purchase upgrade subscriptions in preparation for when Windows 10 goes out of support. Each subscription will be associated with a single PC, so a key provided by Microsoft for a fee cannot be used to upgrade multiple systems.
More surprising is the decision to charge those who do not initially subscribe. If you pass the first year of extended updates and choose to subscribe to the updates service in the second or third year, you will have to pay the full subscription amount for all previous years.
According to StatCounter, Windows 10 is still used by 69% of all Windows users, compared to just 27% for Windows 11. It’s a big gap that Microsoft is unlikely to close in the next 18 months, leaving many Windows 10 users having to consider paying for security updates for the first time. Despite the technological evolution, Windows 7 still hasn’t completely disappeared, maintaining a market share of 3.04%. However, its use is becoming increasingly dangerous as security and other essential updates are missing.