Windows 10 end of support is coming in October 2025, and consumers will only be able to buy an extra year of security updates.
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Microsoft is finally revealing that it will charge consumers $30 for a year of extra security updates to Windows 10. Support for Windows 10 will end on October 14th, 2025, but consumers will be able to purchase a single year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for $30 for the first time ever.
While businesses will be charged $61 for a single year of ESU, they also have the option to pay $122 for a second year and then $244 for a third year of updates. Microsoft will only offer consumers a single year if they’re willing to pay the $30 fee. “Enrolled PCs will continue to receive Critical and Important security updates for Windows 10; however, new features, bug fixes, and technical support will no longer be available from Microsoft,” explains Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft.
Consumers will be able to enroll in the ESU program “closer to the end of support in 2025.” Naturally, Microsoft is once again encouraging consumers to upgrade to Windows 11 instead of purchasing extended security updates for Windows 10. “With the Windows 10 End of Support moment, now is the time to move to Windows 11 with confidence,” says Mehdi.
That move to Windows 11 may involve buying a new PC. Millions of PCs can’t upgrade officially to Windows 11 due to more strict hardware requirements and Microsoft’s security push with its latest OS. Windows 11 is only supported on CPUs released from 2018 onward and with devices that support TPM security chips.
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