What to Do Now That Microsoft No Longer Supports Windows 10

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It’s official: as of Tuesday, October 14, Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 10. Still, if you turned on your Windows 10 computer this morning and saw headlines announcing the end of Windows 10 support, you might be a little confused. After all, your computer is still working. So what’s really going on?

What does the end of Windows 10 support really mean?

As may now be clear, Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 10 doesn’t mean the company has completely stopped supporting the OS. All Windows 10 devices will continue to function—in fact, almost exactly as before. You likely won’t notice any difference between Windows 10 on October 14th and October 13th.

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The problem isn’t that Windows 10 will stop working in the future, but that Microsoft will no longer release security updates to Windows 10 users by default. This means that the next time someone discovers a security vulnerability in this OS—no matter how serious or minor—Microsoft won’t send a patch to most Windows 10 users.

The risk of using Windows 10 in the future is initially low, but it’s growing rapidly. This is only the first day of Windows 10 support ending, meaning using the OS today is low-risk. However, over time, more and more security vulnerabilities will be discovered. Soon, using a Windows 10 computer connected to the internet will become a real danger. Hackers only need to click a malicious link in a spam message or download malware disguised as legitimate software to carry out an attack.

Windows 10 Extended Security Updates

But here’s the thing: beyond users who can’t or don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 and organizations using Windows 10 to run certain programs and services, there are still plenty of Windows 10 devices on the market. If you’re using Windows 10, you’re not alone —by some estimates, the OS accounts for 40.5% of all Windows devices. Sure, there are more Windows 11 PCs, but around half a billion users could lose official Microsoft support.

Microsoft understands this, so this “end of life” doesn’t actually mean the end of Windows 10. The company offers Windows 10 users the opportunity to enroll in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program . Under ESU, you’ll continue to receive critical security fixes even while using Windows 10. It feels like Microsoft is trying to “test” Windows 10, but at least all Windows 10 users have the option to continue using the OS securely.

However, you can’t just expect Microsoft to automatically enroll your computer in the ESU program. You have three options, two of which are free:

  1. Pay a one-time fee of $30.

  2. Connect Windows Backup to sync your PC with the cloud.

  3. Earn 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.

These options will appear on your computer after updating to the latest available version. Next, go to Settings > Windows Update and look for the options “Windows 10 support ends in October 2025” and “Sign up for extended security updates to help keep your device secure.”

However, keep in mind that Microsoft doesn’t see this as a long-term solution. After all, it’s still part of the Windows 10 end-of-life plan. The ESU program only runs from October 15 of this year to October 13, 2026. After that date, Microsoft will permanently stop providing security updates for Windows 10. Furthermore, you’ll only receive security fixes, not feature updates, design changes, or technical support.

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Upgrading to Windows 11

Whether today or October 13th next year, without these security updates, running Windows 10 on an internet-connected computer will be unsafe. Therefore, your only option for using Windows in the future is to upgrade to an OS actively supported by Microsoft. Currently, that’s Windows 11.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean buying a new PC, as Windows 11 may be compatible with your current computer. Here are the minimum hardware requirements, as stated by Microsoft :

  • Processor: 1 GHz or higher, at least two cores on a 64-bit chip

  • Memory: 4 GB or more

  • Memory: 64 GB or more

  • Video card: DirectX 12 or later compatible with WDDM 2.0 driver

  • TPM: Trusted Platform Module version 2.0

  • Display: 720p or higher, nine inches or larger, with 8-bits per color channel

Your Windows 10 PC must also be running Windows 10 version 2004 or later, and you’ll need to have at least the September 14, 2021 security update installed.

While many of these requirements seem fairly straightforward, the lack of TPM 2.0 is the cause of crashes on many otherwise functional computers. This is a security standard that helps prevent modern cyberattacks on Windows, so having it is a good thing. However, if your computer was manufactured after 2016, it may not have TPM 2.0. Your computer may well run Windows 11, but Microsoft won’t approve it if it doesn’t have this security feature.

However, you can bypass Microsoft and install Windows 11 on an unsupported computer . Please note that Microsoft discourages this and may even discontinue support for your computer if you choose this route, thereby defeating the purpose of upgrading from Windows 10.

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