Windows 10 is no longer supported: what to do, calmly

Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025. If that is the system on your computer, start with this: the machine still works, it will start tomorrow morning exactly as it did yesterday, and nothing is about to switch off. There is no decision you have to make tonight.

What changed is that Microsoft no longer publishes free security fixes for that system. You have three possible routes: enrol in the extended security updates programme, which carries protection through to 12 October 2027; move to Windows 11 if the machine allows it; or replace the computer. The rest of this article is about choosing between them without rushing.

What “end of support” does and does not mean

This is where the most nonsense circulates, so let us be precise.

What does not change. Windows 10 keeps starting, your programs keep opening, your files are untouched, your printer prints, your antivirus keeps updating itself. No licence expires.

What does change. Microsoft no longer fixes, free of charge, the security flaws found in the system. Official support for it has ended.

What changes slowly. Over time, manufacturers stop supplying drivers for it, and applications and browsers eventually require something newer. This does not happen all at once, but it does happen.

Your other software follows its own separate calendars. Browsers and office suites carry on updating on Windows 10 for a while, and then their makers eventually require a newer system. There is no single date covering everything: each vendor announces its own.

A Windows 10 computer today is not dangerous. It becomes gradually less well protected, and the gap widens with every month that passes without a fix.

The real risk, in plain terms

Every month, flaws are found in every operating system. As long as a system is supported, they get closed before most people ever hear about them.

On a system that is no longer supported, they stay open, and they become public knowledge. The risk is cumulative: negligible in the first month, real after a year, serious after two.

It also helps to know where the exposure actually sits. Most of what reaches an ordinary home computer arrives through the browser or through email, and both of those are still being updated. An unpatched operating system matters most for the things underneath: file sharing on the local network, older document formats, and anything that connects the machine directly to the internet without a router in front of it.

For someone who browses carefully and does not click on everything, this is not an emergency. For a computer used for banking, for a small business’s books, or for filing taxes, it is worth settling the question over the coming months rather than waiting until 2027.

Extended security updates: the bridge

Microsoft offers consumers an extended security updates programme (usually shortened to ESU) for Windows 10. It carries security fixes through to 12 October 2027.

There are three ways to enrol, and you pick one:

• Free, by syncing your PC settings. This is the route most people will take. Syncing settings goes through a Microsoft account.
• With 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, if you have accumulated them.
• With a one-time payment of $30 USD.

The official details and the procedure are on Microsoft’s extended security updates page.

Treat it as a bridge rather than a destination. It buys you time to decide unhurriedly, replace the machine when it suits you instead of in a panic, and spread the cost.

The prerequisite: version 22H2

The programme requires the PC to be on Windows 10 version 22H2. If your machine stayed on an earlier version, it has to be updated first.

To check:

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Go to System, then About.
3. Look for the “Version” line. It should read 22H2.

If it does not, go through Windows Update and install what it offers, then check again. A PC left alone for two years may need several rounds of updates and restarts to get there.

Can this PC run Windows 11?

That is the next question, and the answer depends on the age of the machine.

The simplest way to find out: open Windows Update in Settings. If the machine is eligible, the upgrade to Windows 11 is offered there directly, and it is free for a PC with a Windows 10 licence.

If nothing is offered, Microsoft’s PC Health Check app tells you which requirement is not met. The usual blockers are the TPM 2.0 security module, Secure Boot, and above all the list of supported processors. That last one rules out most machines: a computer in otherwise excellent condition can be refused purely because of the age of its processor.

In practice, PCs bought from roughly 2018 onwards often qualify, and older ones frequently do not. Check rather than assume.

If the PC cannot move to Windows 11

Three honest options, with no wrong answer.

1. Enrol the PC in extended updates and carry on. This is the sensible choice for a machine that works well and suits you. You are covered until October 2027, and you decide what comes next later, without pressure.

2. Replace the computer. This settles the question for six or eight years. It need not be expensive: a refurbished business machine running Windows 11 often costs a fraction of new. Our article on which computer to buy covers what actually matters, and the file transfer can then be planned at your own pace.

3. Install Linux, for the technically curious. A mainstream distribution such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu gives a full second life to a computer Windows 11 refuses, free of charge, with security updates for years. It is excellent for browsing, email and ordinary documents. It is not for everyone: your Windows programs will not run as they are, the printer sometimes takes patience, and you have to accept a different look and feel. If the computer is mostly used for the web and email, and tinkering appeals to you, it is a genuine option. You can also try it before committing: these systems run from a USB stick without touching the drive, which lets you check that the Wi-Fi, the sound and the trackpad all work before anything is installed.

What not to do

Bypassing the Windows 11 requirements with a workaround found online. The installation sometimes starts, but the machine lands in a grey zone where future updates are not guaranteed. You would have traded a known problem for an unpredictable one.

Paying for an “optimiser” or a “cleaner” sold as the answer. None of those products stands in for a security patch.

Believing a phone call or a pop-up about it. The end of Windows 10 support is an excellent pretext for fraudsters, and plenty are using it. Nobody at Microsoft will phone you about this, as our piece on tech-support scams explains.

Rushing. There is no reason to replace a computer in a panic on a Tuesday evening.

Upgrading to Windows 11 without a backup. The upgrade normally keeps your files, and “normally” is not “always”. A backup made the night before turns an incident into an inconvenience.

What to do either way

Whichever option you land on, these four things apply:

1. Back up. Before any upgrade, any change of machine, any installation. It holds even if you change nothing at all.
2. Keep the browser current. Most real-world threats arrive through it, and it is still receiving updates.
3. Check that the built-in protection is switched on and that its definitions are updating.
4. Use a unique password and a second factor on email and banking. On an older system, that layer counts for even more, because it protects the account rather than the machine.

Deciding calmly

Here is the order that avoids bad decisions: check whether you are on 22H2, then whether Windows 11 is being offered. If it is, back up and upgrade. If it is not, enrol in extended updates, which covers you to October 2027, and replace the machine when it suits you.

If you would rather have someone look at your machine and tell you plainly which of the three makes sense for it, that is the kind of check our computer and laptop support service covers. Buying and setting up a replacement falls under new computer, and tightening up the protections under security and privacy.