Want to stick with Windows 10 after October 2025? Here are your options – including how to get a free year of extra support
It probably hasn't escaped your attention that Windows 10 support expires on October 14, 2025. Given that, there's precious little time left before those who remain on the operating system without taking any action will be left with no security updates. Those patches are vital protection for your system, and without them, an unsupported version of Windows is open to new vulnerabilities and potentially being compromised.
If you want to stick with Windows 10 – maybe you dislike Windows 11, or your PC is unable to run it – then there are actually a few options for getting additional support for an extra year. This will carry you through to October 2026, giving you more breathing room to decide on the next step for your Windows 10 PC.
These options can be accessed via the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program that Microsoft revealed late last year, which is being offered to consumers for the first time. (Previously, this scheme was for businesses only.)
You'll have three choices – one of which is completely free, though it has a small catch – so let's go over those next before addressing the issue of how you actually sign up for the ESU scheme (which is causing confusion for some people).
ESU Option 1: Free updates via syncing PC settings
This is the route I'll be taking, and I imagine it'll be the preferred option for a lot of Windows 10 users. This way, you don't need to pay anything at all for the extra year of support: Microsoft just asks that you sync your PC settings to OneDrive (via the Windows Backup app).
Note that you don't have to back up all your PC's data, only the settings. I've seen some confusion about this online, with people not keen on 'giving Microsoft all their data' - you aren't doing this, rest assured. You do have to share your PC settings, though, and you will, of course, need to be signed up for a Microsoft account.
ESU Option 2: Use Microsoft Rewards
If you've accumulated Microsoft Rewards points, which are accrued by using Bing or other Microsoft services, or spending at the Microsoft Store, you can use these to pay for the ESU scheme. It'll cost you 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
ESU Option 3: Pay $30
If you don't have Microsoft Rewards points and absolutely refuse to sync anything with Microsoft, then the only remaining option is to pay for the extra year of extended support. It'll cost $30 or the equivalent in your local currency. Note that even if you pay for extended support, you'll still need a Microsoft account.
I can't see the ESU scheme anywhere - how do I sign up?
You sign up for the ESU program by clicking a link in the Windows Update panel. Just search for 'Windows Update' in the taskbar search box (or Settings), and when you're in the panel, you might see an option to 'Enroll now' for Extended Security Updates on the right-hand side of the screen.
Notice I said that you might see it, because here's the thing: Microsoft has only begun rolling out this option right now. As Microsoft recently clarified, it's a slow-paced rollout, meaning a lot of folks can't see it yet, myself included (at the time of writing). However, rest assured that it's coming; you'll just have to be patient.
Microsoft has promised that the ESU enrollment wizard will appear on all Windows 10 PCs before the support deadline expires in mid-October. So most likely, you'll see it on your PC in September at some point (possibly after that month's update). Just keep checking back in Windows Update and it'll turn up eventually, or it should do, barring any weirdness or bugginess on Microsoft's part (which can't ever be fully ruled out).
Whatever you do - don't do nothing
Make sure you know what you want to do in terms of getting extended updates, and keep checking back to sign up for the ESU program. Whatever you do, don't just stay on Windows 10 after October 2025 with no updates provided, because as time ticks on, you'll increasingly be running a greater risk. The more months that pass by, the more security holes that may be revealed and remain unpatched, possibly opening the door for your Windows 10 PC to be hacked in some way.
If you don't get extended updates for Windows 10 sorted, or don't like any of the options, and don't want to upgrade to Windows 11, then look at moving to another platform. A Windows-like flavor of Linux might be your best bet.
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