Explainer
Windows 10 end of support: what to do now
Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025. The machines still work, but they get no security fixes unless you buy Extended Security Updates - and because those are cumulative, every month you wait costs more.
By Claire Donnelly · Last reviewed 11 August 2026 · 4 min read
The short version
- Support ended on 14 October 2025 - the PCs still run, but nothing is being patched
- Business ESU is $61 per device for year one, and the price doubles each year after
- ESU is cumulative: enrol in year two and you pay for year one as well
- ESU is a bridge, not a destination - three years is the maximum
- The machines that cannot take Windows 11 are the ones needing a decision now
Where you actually stand today
This deadline has already passed. If you are reading this because someone mentioned it in a meeting, the position is not “coming up” – it happened in October 2025, and any Windows 10 machine that has not been enrolled in Extended Security Updates has been going without security patches ever since.
Nothing dramatic happens on the day. The PCs boot, Office opens, everything looks normal. That is exactly the problem: an unpatched machine looks identical to a patched one right up until it is exploited, and newly discovered flaws in Windows 10 are now permanent unless you are paying for updates.
Microsoft has confirmed that from that date there are no more quality updates, no feature updates and no technical support for Windows 10.
What ESU is, and what it is not
Extended Security Updates is a paid subscription that keeps critical and important security patches coming. For businesses it costs $61 per device for year one, and Microsoft doubles the price each consecutive year, for a maximum of three years. Year one began in November 2025.
Three details matter more than the headline price.
It is cumulative. Microsoft is explicit: buy in year two and you must pay for year one as well. There is no joining late at the current rate.
It only covers security. No new features, no bug fixes that are not security-related, and no technical support. If a Windows 10 machine develops a fault, ESU does not help you.
The device must be on Windows 10 version 22H2. Anything on an older build is not eligible until it is brought up to date.
There is one useful exception. Windows 10 virtual machines running in Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure get ESU at no extra cost, and physical Windows 10 machines connecting to a Windows 365 Cloud PC are covered for up to three years while that subscription is active.
The three honest options
Upgrade the machine in place. Free, and the right answer wherever the hardware qualifies. Windows 11 needs a reasonably modern processor, UEFI with Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0. Plenty of machines bought from around 2018 onwards will take it, and some only need TPM or Secure Boot switching on in firmware.
Replace the machine. The honest option for kit that cannot meet the requirements. A four or five-year-old laptop that fails the check is usually near replacement anyway, and buying it now rather than in an emergency gets you a better price and a planned migration.
Buy ESU as a bridge. Sensible for machines you genuinely cannot move yet – a PC tied to an old application, a machine attached to expensive equipment, something mid-contract. It buys time, and it should come with a date by which the machine goes.
What is not an option, though plenty of businesses are quietly taking it, is doing nothing and hoping. That is a decision too; it is just not one anybody has written down.
Work out where you stand
- How many Windows 10 machines are still in use, including any on a shop floor?
- Which pass the Windows 11 check, and which fail on TPM or Secure Boot only?
- Are any tied to software that will not run on Windows 11?
- Are any already enrolled in ESU, and who is paying for it?
- What is the replacement budget this year, and does it cover the failures?
- Does your cyber insurance ask whether your systems are supported?
The awkward cases
Two situations account for most of the machines still sitting on Windows 10.
The first is a PC running a piece of software that has never been updated – a machine attached to a laser cutter, a legacy database, a bit of lab equipment. Replacing the PC means dealing with the software, which is why it keeps getting postponed. That is a real problem, and the sensible answer is usually to isolate the machine on the network and buy ESU while a proper plan is made.
The second is the machine that could take Windows 11 but nobody has got round to it. Those are the cheap wins, and they are worth doing first, because every one you upgrade is one fewer ESU licence to buy.
Common questions
Is it actually dangerous, or is this scaremongering?
It is a real and growing risk rather than an immediate emergency. Each month brings new vulnerabilities that will never be fixed on unsupported Windows 10, and attackers pay close attention to exactly this. The risk does not spike, it accumulates.
Will our Microsoft 365 apps stop working?
Not immediately. Microsoft has said the Office apps continue to run on Windows 10 and will receive security updates until October 2028, but running current applications on an unsupported operating system is a temporary position, not a plan.
Can we upgrade an old PC to Windows 11 anyway?
There are unofficial ways around the hardware checks, and we would not advise them for a business. Such machines may not receive updates reliably and sit outside Microsoft support, which puts you in a worse position than the one you were trying to leave.
How long will ESU last?
For businesses, three years at most from the October 2025 end of support. It is designed as a bridge, and the doubling price is Microsoft making sure you treat it as one.
Does our cyber insurance care?
Increasingly, yes. Questions about whether operating systems are supported and patched now appear routinely on renewal forms, and an inaccurate answer is a good way to have a claim questioned.
Written by Claire Donnelly
Still not sure how many Windows 10 machines you have?
Most businesses are surprised by the answer, and by how many would upgrade for nothing. We'll count them, tell you which qualify for Windows 11, and cost the ones that do not.
Ask us to audit them