Microsoft to end Windows 10 support on October 14th, 2025
Another sign that a new version of Windows is on the way!
Jun 14, 2021, 9:06am EDT
Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 on October 14th, 2025. It will mark just over 10 years since the operating system was first introduced. Microsoft revealed the retirement date for Windows 10 in an updated support life cycle page for the OS. Thurrott reports that this is the first time Microsoft has ever described the end of support for Windows 10.
It’s not clear exactly when the support document was updated, but Thurrott reports it only previous documented “when specific Windows 10 versions would leave support,” and not the entire OS. It could be another hint that a new version of Windows is on the way.
Microsoft keeps dropping Windows 11 hints
Microsoft has been dropping lots of hints that it’s ready to launch Windows 11. The software maker is holding a special Windows event to reveal the “next generation” of the OS next week. The event starts at 11AM ET, and the event invite includes a window that creates a shadow with an outline that looks like the number 11. Microsoft execs have also been teasing a “next generation of Windows” announcement for months, and one even described it as a “new version of Windows” recently. Microsoft also teased Windows 11 during an 11-minute video last week.
We’re expecting Microsoft to announce a new version of Windows with significant user interface changes, and an overhaul to the Windows Store. Microsoft has been working on something codenamed “Sun Valley,” which the company has referred to as a “sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows.” There will be many other changes, so read our previous coverage for what to expect.
We’re expecting to see a new version of Windows soon.
Microsoft originally committed to 10 years of support for Windows 10, with an original mainstream end of support date set for October 13th, 2020. That mainstream end of support has not yet commenced, as Microsoft has been introducing regular updates and extending active Windows 10 support.
We’re still not in the extended support phase of Windows 10 yet, which is the period when Microsoft doesn’t add new features to an operating system and simply maintains support with bug fixes and security patches.
Windows 10 has been an unusual release for Microsoft, as it moved away from its typical cadence of releasing a new version of the OS every few years. Instead, Microsoft moved Windows to more of a service, updating it twice a year with new features. Microsoft may have described Windows 10 as “the last version of Windows,” but it has now been nearly six years since its release and Microsoft looks ready to move on to something new.
I’d also like to know their logic behind how Windows 11 navigates (or doesn’t in my opinion!)
Describe what you mean by “navigates”, a I am not sure I understand here.
I mean how they expect the user to navigate around the interface. It’s less intuitive than windows 10
I’d also like to know their logic behind how Windows 11 navigates (or doesn’t in my opinion!)
Describe what you mean by “navigates”, a I am not sure I understand here.
I mean how they expect the user to navigate around the interface. It’s less intuitive than windows 10
Thanks Russel. I used to have a saying about Microsoft product updates: I spent more time learning how to use them than I do using them. (Same for Adobe BTW). There must be some marketing reasoning that a major upgrade to an app or OS isn’t new unless they make drastic UI changes. I have to winder if the UI designers actually use their own products?
True. Upgrading an OS always seem like a voyage of discovery with downtime of productivity!
Don’t worry as Windows 11 is as popular as Windows Vista was. Microsoft is likely to release Windows 12 soon and that’s probably Windows 10 + several more features that we don’t need.
Some bloke by the name of Bill Gates once said that “640K software is all the memory anybody would ever need on a computer”. Little did he realise that Windows contains a lot of software that does not even run in 640Kb.
During its announcements of the Windows 11 rollout, Microsoft reiterated that Windows 10 would remain supported until October 14, 2025. The company put it in writing, too, in a blog post(Opens in a new window) that confirms the date. This applies to both Home and Pro versions of Windows 10.
Thanks for the info! Windows 10 has been a very solid operating system. The transition to Windows 11 has been a relatively easy one. Two and a half more years of support for W10 will be plenty.
Me waving goodbye to Windows 10…
The most annoying part is not being able to right-click the taskbar for task manager. ugh.
Damn, I did not know that. I have not had to bring it up yet. Why would they remove that functionality? What good reason can they give for removing something that has been in Windows for what, 5 major releases now? Stupid.
For me, most of the functionality etc in Windows 11 seems to be ok. My laptop actually behaves way better since I have been on Windows 11. There are a few minor gripes I have, example the taskbar layout for me is irritating. Basic navigation when you hit the windows tile was a little different, but got use to that. So cannot really say I dislike it, more like I had to get use to it.
End of support doesn’t really seem to make much difference to many businesses. They will still continue to use it and not upgrade their OS. Or keep legacy hardware that can’t upgrade.
I’m fed up of still seeing windows 7!
End of support doesn’t really seem to make much difference to many businesses. They will still continue to use it and not upgrade their OS. Or keep legacy hardware that can’t upgrade.
I’m fed up of still seeing windows 7!
Yeah I loved win 7 for its time but it's long past now. I grimace everytime I see a machine with it installed, only reason clients have though in our case is compatibility with third party programmes they use for factory stuff for instance.
The most annoying part is not being able to right-click the taskbar for task manager. ugh.
Damn, I did not know that. I have not had to bring it up yet. Why would they remove that functionality? What good reason can they give for removing something that has been in Windows for what, 5 major releases now? Stupid.
For me, most of the functionality etc in Windows 11 seems to be ok. My laptop actually behaves way better since I have been on Windows 11. There are a few minor gripes I have, example the taskbar layout for me is irritating. Basic navigation when you hit the windows tile was a little different, but got use to that. So cannot really say I dislike it, more like I had to get use to it.
Much like you Martin I am satisfied with windows 11, in my case I wouldn't say I was 'happy' with it. I feel the same way about it I did with Windows 8.1. it winds me up you can't right click on the taskbar for task manager and I have to right click on the start button only now for that (or press the classic ctrl alt del), but the biggest gripe I have over everything else is that even after all this time, I still find myself ending up at control panel because the modern Settings still don't give me all the settings control panel has. How, after all this time?!
End of support doesn’t really seem to make much difference to many businesses. They will still continue to use it and not upgrade their OS. Or keep legacy hardware that can’t upgrade.
I’m fed up of still seeing windows 7!
Yeah I loved win 7 for its time but it's long past now. I grimace everytime I see a machine with it installed, only reason clients have though in our case is compatibility with third party programmes they use for factory stuff for instance.
Yes, same here. A coupe of lingering programmes. Or they cant be bothered to buy a new PC!
Thanks for the info, Windows 11 has been working great for us so far, now I just need to convince all my customers to upgrade in the next couple years :)
I will never upgrade to Windows 11. The minimum requirements prohibit me from even qualifying from using it. So I use either Mac OS or Windows 10.
I will never upgrade to Windows 11. The minimum requirements prohibit me from even qualifying from using it. So I use either Mac OS or Windows 10.
Yep, I’m in the same situation. Running Win 10 on a desktop and laptop. Can’t upgrade to Win 11 because of the requirements. The PC’s are old anyway. Running macOS Catalina also. I could upgrade to macOS Monterey but will not. If I wanted an iPad I would have bought one. Monterey is a close version of an iPad and even more so macOS Ventura. What a disappointment the way the Macs and PC’s are upgraded. I’m glad I’m old. LOL
I used W11 on a VM and did not mind it actually, but this laptop cannot run it, however I think that before 2025 I will have a new machine anyway.
I have the same problem with my home PC and my CPU is not on the supported list but would ultimately be absolutely fine if I bothered to do a fresh install of 11 as opposed to upgrade from 10 which prohibits it. Realistically it is just a way for them to drive sales of hardware.
I like my legacy MBR and Windows. I’ve been doing that for decades now… why you gotta do this to me
The saddest things about being forced onto Windows 11 is that it still feels like an incomplete operating system, with the useful basics are all hidden away, and you need to spend time bringing them back or explaining to users how to find the tools they are used to using… all for no valid reason other than for Microsoft appear to have something new to offer.
For me, 11 is ok, though irritating at times due to things mentioned above, but it’s 2024 and still the easiest operating system to infect out of the box, and it’s that side I have always complained about… stop wasting time of fluff and harden the security of Windows!
Anyway, I’m off to my CP/M computer that is standalone with my nice amber monitor…. :)
Lots of PCs are poised to fall off the Windows 10 update cliff one year from today
Oct 14, 2024 1:51 p.m
Windows 10 is by far the most-used version of Windows, and support ends soon.
One year from today, on October 14, 2025, Microsoft will stop releasing security updates for PCs that are still running Windows 10.
Organizations and individuals will still be able to pay for three more years of updates, with prices that go up steadily each year (Microsoft still hasn't provided pricing for end users, only saying that it will release pricing info "closer to the October 2025 date.") But for most PCs running Windows 10, the end of the line is in sight.
Normally, this wouldn't be a huge deal; the last dregs of support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 dried up in January 2023, and the world didn't end even though some PCs continue to run those OS versions. But there are three things about the end of Windows 10 support that are slightly different from other recent end-of-life dates:
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