Windows 10 Support Has Ended. Don’t Buy a New Computer Yet.

11/05/2025|Ecosystems & Devices

Written by Don Castle · Updated 08/02/2026

Update, July 2026: Microsoft has extended the consumer Extended Security Updates program to 12 October 2027 — a year later than the date given below. Enrolling is still free if you sync your PC settings, or costs 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points or a one-off $30. The advice in this article stands; you simply have longer than it says. Current details are on Microsoft’s ESU page.

If you use a Windows 10 computer, it has probably been nagging you for months. Full-screen messages about upgrading. Warnings with countdown language. Maybe a cheerful suggestion that what you really need is a brand-new PC.

Then October 14 came and went, and your computer… kept working. So which is it — crisis or nothing?

Neither, and that’s the honest answer most of those messages skip. Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025, and it does matter. But you have more options than the scary popups suggest, one of them is free, and almost none of them need to happen today.

Quick Summary: Windows 10 stopped receiving security updates on October 14, 2025. Your computer still works, but it needs a plan. For most people the right first move is enrolling in Microsoft’s free Extended Security Updates program, which buys you until October 2026 to decide what’s next — calmly, on your schedule.

What actually ended when Windows 10 support ended

Three things stopped on October 14: security updates, feature updates, and Microsoft’s technical support for the operating system. According to Microsoft’s end-of-support notice, Windows 10 computers keep running normally — nothing shuts off, nothing gets deleted.

A few things quietly continue, and they matter. Microsoft says security updates for Microsoft 365 apps — Word, Excel, Outlook — will keep flowing on Windows 10 until October 2028. Microsoft Defender, the built-in antivirus, keeps receiving its threat-definition updates on a similar timeline. So the picture on October 15 wasn’t “defenseless computer.” It was “computer whose deepest layer stopped getting fixes.”

You’re in large company, by the way. As of October 2025, roughly four in ten Windows PCs worldwide were still running Windows 10, according to StatCounter. Microsoft didn’t retire a stragglers’ system; it retired one that nearly half the world still uses.

Why “it still works” isn’t the whole story

Here’s the one comparison worth making. When a carmaker ends support for an old model, the car doesn’t stop driving. But when a defect is discovered after that date, there’s no recall — whatever’s found stays broken, and now everyone knows it’s broken.

That’s the actual risk of an unsupported operating system. Researchers and criminals both keep finding flaws in Windows 10 after October 14. Supported systems get patches. Yours doesn’t. And each publicized flaw becomes a known, permanent, unlocked entrance. CISA’s guidance on software updates makes the same point in drier language: unpatched software is the single most common way in.

The risk isn’t dramatic on day one. It compounds. Which is exactly why Microsoft built a bridge — and then barely advertised it.

The free year Microsoft isn’t shouting about

Microsoft’s consumer Extended Security Updates program (ESU) keeps the security patches coming on Windows 10 through October 13, 2026. As of early November 2025, you can enroll in three ways:

Free, if you let Windows Backup sync your PC settings to your Microsoft account
1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, if you’ve been collecting those
$30, one time, which covers up to 10 devices tied to the same Microsoft account

To enroll, open Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update and look for the Enroll now link. You’ll need Windows 10 version 22H2 with current updates installed, and you’ll need to sign in with a Microsoft account — even for the paid option. If you’ve been holding out with a local account, that’s the toll booth. I don’t love it either, but a year of patches is worth the concession for most people.

Two details worth knowing. First, missing the October 14 date did not lock you out — enrollment stays open, so a computer you enroll this week catches up on the patches it missed. Second, ESU is security-only: no new features, no fixes for ordinary non-security bugs, no help line. It’s a bridge, not a destination.

Check whether your PC gets Windows 11 free

If your PC qualifies, the Windows 11 upgrade is free and the most durable fix. The catch is the hardware bar: Windows 11 requires a security chip called TPM 2.0 and a processor from roughly 2018 or later, which is precisely why so many perfectly healthy Windows 10 machines can’t make the jump.

Don’t guess. Run Microsoft’s PC Health Check app (search for it in the Start menu, or download it from Microsoft’s site) and get a yes or no in about a minute. If it’s a yes, back up your files and take the upgrade — it’s the boring, correct move.

If it’s a no, keep reading.

If your computer can’t upgrade

You have four real options, and “rush out and buy something” is the worst-ranked version of one of them.

Take the ESU year and breathe. Enrolled, your machine is patched until October 2026. That’s twelve months to decide with a clear head.

Buy a new PC — but on your timing. If the machine is old enough that a replacement was coming anyway, this is the rare moment procrastination pays: holiday sales are weeks away, and a January purchase beats an October panic-purchase every time. If you’re weighing a bigger change while you’re at it, my Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux comparison walks through who each one actually fits.

Give the old machine a second life with Linux. A modern, friendly Linux system runs beautifully on hardware Windows 11 rejects, and it’s free. This isn’t for everyone — but it’s for more people than you’d think.

Retire it from the internet. A Windows 10 machine that never goes online — photo archive, jukebox, the solitaire machine in the guest room — carries very little of this risk. Unsupported and offline is a fine retirement.

What I’d do: Enroll every Windows 10 machine in the house in ESU this week — free tier, ten minutes each. Run PC Health Check on each one. Upgrade the eligible ones over a quiet weekend; give the rest until spring to earn a decision.

What I’d skip: Buying a new computer in a hurry, and paying anyone other than Microsoft for “Windows 10 protection.” Third-party vendors are already circling this moment. The $0–$30 official program is the only one you need.

The messages on your screen were designed to make this feel urgent. It isn’t urgent — it’s just real, and real things respond well to a plan made calmly.

Tonight, before you close the laptop: Settings, Windows Update, Enroll now. Ten minutes. Then go enjoy your evening — you’ve got until next October.

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This is general information, not personal security advice. Your situation may differ — verify with a professional for high-stakes decisions.