Windows 10 support is ending
Microsoft has announced the end of Windows 10, the world’s most popular operating system. And the decision will leave millions of users with a financial headache.
Microsoft broke the news through an updated product roadmap, announcing that the current version of Windows 10, 22H2, released in October 2022, is the final feature update. The company also stated that all support for Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education, including security updates, will end for mainstream users on October 14, 2025.
“We highly encourage you to transition to Windows 11 now,” said Microsoft product manager Jason Leznek.
Unfortunately, for millions of Windows users around the world, it won’t be that easy. Despite claiming Windows 10 would be the “last version of Windows” in 2015, Microsoft released Windows 11 in 2021 with higher hardware requirements that exclude many older PCs and laptops. The most controversial was support for the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 introduced in mid-2016.
Some older PC motherboards can add a TPM module for around $50, but support for this is patchy, and you will have to check your computer’s specifications.
Moreover, with Windows 10 still accounting for > 70% of the total Windows market share (Windows 11 has just 20%), Microsoft has struggled to convince the bulk of its user base to upgrade. Whether that will change now Microsoft has sounded the Windows 10 death knell remains to be seen, but complaints remain that the operating system still lacks core Windows 10 features.
That discontent can be seen in the comments section of the Microsoft announcement, which is mainly negative, both in terms of Windows 11 and a feeling of forced obsolescence:
So what can you do? Microsoft will provide paid extended support for its Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) enterprise customers, but this is a niche group. For everyone else, the options are to a) run Windows 10 without updates (not recommended), b) buy a new PC, and c) bypass the Windows 11 requirements.
The last is the most realistic, and many workaround guides exist, but it isn’t for the faint-hearted. Moreover, Microsoft makes no promises that features or security updates will work or be maintained for these machines.
In short: the countdown clock has now begun for 100s of millions of computers worldwide, and their users have a decision to make.
Leave a Reply