Microsoft will now only update Windows 10 if you | Tech News

Even although more than half a billion Windows computer systems around the globe are nonetheless working Windows 10, Microsoft is ploughing forward with its plan to finish help for the decade-old working system on October 14 of this 12 months. After that day, anybody utilizing Windows 10 will no longer obtain free software program or security updates, which means they will be caught on the present model, by no means again receiving new options or fixes to bugs that crop up over time.

This may depart you open to more online dangers as they seem, each from viruses and from prison exercise by way of varied means. You can improve at no cost to Windows 11, although your PC may not meet the minimal system necessities for that, or buy a new pc, which can also be not perfect.

The only different approach to keep secure with Windows 10 is to affix Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme, which after being introduced months in the past is now lastly accessible for Windows 10 customers to signal up for.

This programme guarantees to proceed to supply security (not function) updates to WIndows 10 for an extra 12 months – the key catch being Microsoft will charge anybody who indicators up $30. At the time of writing, that will equate to £22 for Windows 10 customers within the UK.

“Starting today, individuals will begin to see an enrollment wizard through notifications and in Settings, making it simple to select the best option for you and enroll in ESU directly from your personal Windows 10 PC,” Microsoft mentioned in a weblog post on July 22.

“We understand that moving to a new PC can take time, and we’re here to support you throughout the process. The Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is designed to keep your current Windows 10 PC protected after support ends—helping you stay secure during the transition.”

If you can’t update your PC to Windows 11 – or don’t wish to – then you can now head to the Settings menu in your Windows 10 pc to search out the enrollment wizard for the ESU programme.

If you’re not seeing the option, you need to make sure your PC is working Windows 10, model 22H2. This is the present and closing model of Windows 10, and older variations don’t help ESUs. Microsoft says the ESU paid protection will run from October 15, 2025, till October 13, 2026. It’s unclear if the firm will offer this programme for longer than a 12 months.

After the October deadline, Windows 11 will be the only remaining formally supported model of Windows. Microsoft is pushing updates to the working system that introduce the firm’s Copilot AI assistant, which has changed Windows 10’s Cortana.