Microsoft has prolonged its free Home windows 10 Prolonged Safety Updates programme for shoppers by an extra 12 months, with eligible gadgets now set to obtain safety updates till October 12, 2027.
The change was not formally introduced however surfaced by way of updates to Microsoft’s ESU documentation and an editor’s be aware appended to a Home windows Expertise Weblog submit. The be aware, dated June 25, said that the programme for personal-use gadgets was being offered for a further 12 months, giving clients extra time to maneuver to a brand new Home windows 11 PC whereas persevering with to obtain essential safety updates.
Home windows 10 reached the tip of normal assist on October 14, 2025, after which Microsoft stopped issuing function updates, technical assist or safety updates for the working system, barring Lengthy-Time period Servicing Channel variations. For shoppers unable or unwilling to maneuver to Home windows 11, Microsoft had launched a free ESU enrolment possibility, initially on account of expire on October 12, 2026. That deadline has now been pushed again by a 12 months.
Gadgets already enrolled within the programme will proceed to obtain updates mechanically by way of to the brand new date, with no motion required from customers. These not but enrolled can nonetheless join free by signing into Home windows 10 with a Microsoft account, or pay $30, or 1,000 Microsoft Rewards factors, for entry. Enterprise clients, who pay per machine, can stay on the ESU programme for as much as three years, with Microsoft indicating that route will run by way of 2028.
The choice comes in opposition to a backdrop of slower-than-expected migration to Home windows 11. In response to StatCounter information, Home windows 10 was nonetheless working on roughly 26 per cent of PCs, with Home windows 11 at round 72 per cent. A number of components have been cited for the hole, together with stricter {hardware} necessities for Home windows 11, akin to Trusted Platform Module assist, that left some functioning PCs unable to improve. A scarcity of reminiscence and storage parts, pushed by rising AI-related demand, has additionally pushed up the price of new programs, whereas some customers have cited Microsoft’s rising give attention to AI options as a cause to delay upgrading.
Microsoft has beforehand prolonged assist home windows for older working programs below related stress, having repeatedly pushed again the tip of assist for Home windows XP in the course of the 2010s because it turned clear massive numbers of PCs wouldn’t be upgraded.