Microsoft has confirmed there will be security updates for Windows 10 after the end-of-life date, however it will come at a cost.
The company recently revealed plans to charge users for Extended Security Updates (ESU), for those who intend to continue using Windows 10 beyond the support date of October 14th, 2025.
Previously, support like this was only available for enterprise organisations, but Microsoft is extending it to individual users, available through an annual subscription service, with pricing still to be announced.
Microsoft also has plans to make CoPilot available on Windows 10, however, the older system won’t get an extensive update like Windows 11.
The company still insists customers switch to Windows 11, noting that while the ESU program provides security updates, technical support isn’t available.
The official end-of-life date is October 14th, 2025, and the ESU program extends the OS support by three years for those willing to pay for the additional security patches.
Research shows the Windows 11 adoption is achieving better results than initially believed, actively running on over 400 million devices, expected to hit half a billion installs by the beginning of 2024. Windows 10, however, still dominates the sector, powering 80.5% of devices.
Back in October, Lansweeper, an IT asset management group, discovered most businesses were updating to Windows 11 when replacing hardware, although most had the minimum requirements to upgrade.
It was also noted that outside of paid service, Microsoft could be forced to provide free security updates for out-of-date software in extreme circumstances.
