For those who have not migrated to Windows 11, support for Windows 10 will officially end on October 14, 2025. However, Microsoft has announced that a one-year Extended Security Update (ESU) will be available for $30.

There are a few caveats regarding this extended support. In a blog post, Microsoft Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi said, “Registered PCs will continue to receive critical and important security updates for Windows 10, but new features, bug fixes, and technical support will no longer be available from Microsoft.”

In other words, your Windows 10 device will remain secure for at least a year, but you are on your own for everything else.

In addition, Mehdi notes that you cannot sign up for extensions until “near the end of support in 2025.” Presumably this refers to September, but Microsoft did not give a more specific range.

Of course, Microsoft is encouraging those using Windows 10 to move to Windows 11. Mehdi said, “Now that Windows 10 support is ending, it's time to move to Windows 11 with confidence.”

This may be more difficult than Mehdi claims. That's because thousands of PCs will not be able to upgrade to the current version of Windows 11, 24H2, thanks to a number of incompatibility issues. This week it was revealed that the 24H2 update is also crashing Intel motherboards.

If you are one of the lucky few who have access to 24H2, it introduces many interesting new features. In addition, you may have to get a new PC, like one of the best Windows laptops, as the requirements to run Windows 11 are more stringent.

Windows 10 was supposed to end in 2023, but Microsoft resumed its beta program earlier this year and continues to support a solid operating system; given all the problems Windows 11 currently faces, 10 may be indestructible.