Prime Highlights:
- October 14, 2025, is the deadline for free upgrade offer to Windows 11 for Windows 10 users.
- Free upgrades will need to occur after that, or security upgrades will need to be purchased.
Key Facts:
- October 14, 2025, is the deadline by which official support for Windows 10 will end.
- Microsoft 365 applications will also end support for Windows 10 after this date.
- Customers can purchase Extended Security Updates (ESU) for $30 to receive one additional year of support.
Key Background:
Microsoft quietly dropped the official bombshell about the deadline for its free upgrade to Windows 11: October 14, 2025. That aligns with the final to end all support for Windows 10, a significant change for the tens of millions still running the older OS.
Once the cutoff date has passed, Windows 10 devices will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, and Microsoft technical support. Except for this, Microsoft 365 apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel, etc., will no longer receive updates and support on Windows 10, which is the perpetrator of the compatibility and performance issues.
For a smooth transition, Microsoft has also been providing a free upgrade to Windows 11 for eligible Windows 10 devices. Still, the upgrade should be performed before the deadline is reached in October 2025. The devices that do not upgrade in time will either be left vulnerable to further security threats or will need to pay for Extended Security Updates.
For users who are required to continue to run Windows 10 after support ends, Microsoft will sell Extended Security Updates (ESUs) beginning at $30 in year one. They will only be for critical security updates and no new features or basic technical support. The ESU offering is a temporary program and the cost will be more in later years.
Microsoft is pushing people to upgrade to Windows 11 heavily, listing security and performance enhancements as reasons. Windows 11 includes TPM 2.0 support and more robust system integrity tools, so it’s a more secure OS than its predecessor. But the hardware requirements for Windows 11 are stricter, so most older computers cannot run it.
The company has also labeled 2025 as the “year of the PC refresh” and is inviting users to consider upgrading their devices as a whole if they’re not compatible with Windows 11. With the deadline set, Microsoft is now putting the responsibility on the users to get their machines secure and upgraded.
In short, time is ticking. Consumers have to check device compatibility, archive critical files, and decide their upgrade strategy today to be exempted from the effects after October 14, 2025.
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