Updated for the October 2027 extension
Your Windows 10 PC is not dead. Here’s what’s actually true.
Microsoft quietly extended free Windows 10 security updates to 12 October 2027 — and most of the internet still says 2025 or 2026. You probably don’t need to buy anything. This site gives you the real dates, the free options first, and an honest answer about whether switching is right for you.
The one-paragraph version
Windows 10 stopped getting free updates on 14 October 2025. But the Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme now runs to 12 October 2027, and for most home users it costs nothing — you just have to enrol. If you haven’t, your PC is receiving no security patches right now. Enrolling takes about five minutes. Do that first, then take your time deciding what’s next.
Four different deadlines, one table
The single most confusing thing about Windows 10 right now is that the operating system, Office, and your browser all stop being supported on different dates. Nobody lays this out in one place, so here it is.
| What | Supported until | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 itself | 14 Oct 2025 passed | Free updates already ended. Without ESU you are unpatched today. |
| Windows 10 with ESU | 12 Oct 2027 free for most | Security patches continue. Enrolment is open until the programme ends. |
| Microsoft 365 apps Word, Excel, Outlook… |
10 Oct 2028 a year longer | Security updates continue past the OS. Feature updates stop at version 2608. |
| Microsoft Edge + WebView2 | Oct 2028 a year longer | Your browser keeps getting security fixes after Windows stops. |
How we got here
- 14 October 2025 Windows 10 reaches end of support. Free security updates, feature updates and technical support all stop.
- Late 2025 After pressure from consumer group Euroconsumers, Microsoft makes ESU free in the European Economic Area with no Windows Backup requirement. The UK is not in the EEA — a detail that catches a lot of people out.
- 25 June 2026 Microsoft quietly extends consumer ESU by a further year — no press release, just an edit to the documentation and an “Editor’s note” on a blog post. Existing enrollees roll over automatically. Most published guides still haven’t caught up.
- 12 October 2027 Consumer ESU ends. This is also the last day to enrol. Microsoft has moved this date twice already — we re-check it monthly and will update this page the day it changes.
- 10 October 2028 Microsoft 365 apps and Edge stop getting security updates on Windows 10. This is the genuine end of the line.
You are not the only one still on Windows 10
29.8%of Windows desktops still run Windows 10 (July 2026)
↑That share rose over the first half of 2026
$0What ESU costs most home users
Windows 10’s share of desktop Windows was 26.45% in March 2026 and 29.83% in July 2026 — it went up. People aren’t failing to upgrade; a lot of them are actively choosing to stay. (Source: StatCounter. Treat single-month swings with caution — bot traffic distorts these figures.)
Your four options, honestly
There is no single right answer, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Here’s the shape of each path — the detailed guides go deeper, including who each option is wrong for.
Stay on Windows 10
Free, or $30 one-timeEnrol in ESU and keep the machine you have until October 2027. Nothing changes, nothing breaks.
- Everything keeps working exactly as now
- Free via PC settings sync or 1,000 Rewards points
- One licence covers up to 10 devices
- Needs a Microsoft account — no local accounts
Best for most people. Buys 14 months to decide properly, at no cost.
Upgrade to Windows 11
Free if eligibleIf your PC passes the hardware check, this is the path of least resistance. Many that “fail” only need TPM switching on in the BIOS.
- Free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 PCs
- All your software and peripherals keep working
- Blocked by TPM 2.0 / CPU list on much 2015–2018 hardware
- Unofficial bypasses exist but are unsupported
Check before assuming. “Incompatible” is often a disabled BIOS setting.
Switch to Linux
FreeYour hardware is almost certainly fast enough — the Windows 11 barrier is a policy rule, not a performance one.
- Genuinely free, and revives older machines
- Zorin OS can be made to look like Windows 10
- No Adobe CC, no QuickBooks Desktop, no MS Access
- Excel macros need rewriting, not porting
Great for browser-and-documents users. Wrong for several specific groups — we list them — and the hardware check takes two minutes.
Switch to Mac
$799+A real option if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem — but it’s the expensive one, and prices went up in June 2026.
- Mac mini at $799 reusing your monitor and keyboard
- Excellent for creative work and battery life
- 2–4× the cost of a budget Windows PC
- You rebuy your software — the forgotten cost
Only with a positive reason. Switching purely because of this deadline doesn’t add up.
Three things people are getting wrong
Paying $60+ for ESU you can get free
Resellers are listing “Windows 10 ESU Year 1” licences at around $61. Microsoft gives consumer ESU away free if you sync your PC settings or spend 1,000 Rewards points, and charges $30 otherwise. If you’re in the EEA it’s free with nothing but a sign-in. Don’t buy a third-party ESU licence. Here’s the free route.
Assuming “not compatible with Windows 11” is final
Microsoft’s PC Health Check tells you no without telling you why. A very common cause is TPM 2.0 being present but switched off in the BIOS — a setting, not a missing chip. Before you conclude you need new hardware, find out which specific check failed.
Believing you must decide this week
You have until October 2027, and enrolment stays open the whole time. The one thing worth doing today is enrolling in ESU — because until you do, you genuinely are unpatched. Everything after that can wait until you’ve thought about it.
How this site works
Every factual claim here traces to a primary source — Microsoft’s own documentation where possible, and named reporting or vendor pages otherwise. Sources are linked inline rather than gestured at.
We tell you the free option first. That costs us money and it’s the whole point: a site that leads with “buy a new PC” has different incentives from yours. Where we’re not certain of something, we say so instead of rounding it up to confidence. Where an option is wrong for you, we say that too — every migration guide here has a section on who shouldn’t take it.
Facts on this page were verified on 8 August 2026. Microsoft has moved the ESU deadline twice; we re-check the key dates monthly and this page will change the day they do.
If the date moves, we’ll tell you
Microsoft has moved the Windows 10 deadline twice already. We re-check it monthly. Leave your email and if it moves again — or anything else in these guides stops being true — we’ll send one short note saying what changed. Nothing else, ever.
One-topic list: changes to the Windows 10 dates and this site’s guides. Unsubscribe is one click.