Microsoft has been showing end-of-life banners on Windows 10 PCs for about a year now to remind users to upgrade to Windows 11.
As you likely know by now, Windows 10 end-of-life or end-of-support date is 14th October 2025.
Several Windows 10 PC users who cannot upgrade their Windows 10 installations to Windows 11 due to hardware limitations asked us if Windows 10 will stop working after 14th October 2025.
What happens to Windows 10 after 14th October 2025?
Many users are wondering about the existence of Windows 10 after October 14th, 2025. If you are running Windows 10 on a PC that meets or does not meet Windows 11’s hardware requirements, you will be glad to know that your Windows 10 PC will continue to function even after that date.
In other words, even after October 14th, 2025, all features and all installed apps on your Windows 10 (except maybe Office 365 apps) will continue to open and work without any limitations.
Some developers might not release new software for Windows 10 after October 2025, and you might not be able to update apps to their latest versions until 2027 or 2028.
Will Windows 10 continue to receive security updates from Microsoft?
No, after 14 October 2025, Microsoft will not release any new security updates for Windows 10 unless you buy the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for your Windows 10 installation.
Starting October 14th, 2025, users who subscribe to the Windows Extended Security Updates (ESU) program by paying $30 will receive security updates for another year (a maximum of three years for commercial or educational organizations).
NOTE: Hundreds of millions of computers across the globe are running Windows 10. In fact, as of now, Windows 10 has more users than Windows 11, even three and half years after the release of Windows 11, mainly because most Windows 10 PCs do not support Windows 11. Because of the excellent market share, most, if not all, software developers continue to support Windows 10 at least for a few more years.
Is it safe to use Windows 10 after October 2025?
As said before, Windows 10 will not receive any security updates unless you subscribe to the ESU program, which costs $30.
So, running an unsupported Windows operating system might be unsafe, especially if you do not buy the ESU program.
We urge you to upgrade to Windows 11 if your PC’s hardware meets the minimum requirements. Currently, Windows 11 is a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 users, but Microsoft might stop the free upgrade program after October 2025.
Tip: If you decide to use Windows 10 even after October 2025, we suggest you download the latest Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft before that, as the Windows 10 ISO will likely be taken off after that end-of-support date.
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