Microsoft is Launching an Extended Security Update Program for Windows 10

We’ve known for quite some time that Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025, but Microsoft has just announced that organizations who want to keep using the OS past that date will be able to do that if they’re willing to pay for security updates. Indeed, the company has just announced an Extended Security Update program for Windows 10, which will provide organizations with monthly security updates, but no new features.

“The ESU program for Windows 10 will include critical and/or important security updates,” the company said today. “ESUs do not include new features, customer-requested non-security updates, or design change requests. Technical support beyond the ESU itself is also not available.”

Organizations willing to stay on Windows 10 after October 2025 will be able to pay a yearly subscription to the Windows 10 ESU program that’s renewable for three years. Pricing details are currently unknown, however.

For organizations that don’t want to pay for the Windows 10 Extended Security Update program, Microsoft is offering two alternatives: Purchasing new Windows 11 Pro devices or migrating their fleet to Windows 365 Cloud PCs, which are available via a subscription. Microsoft said that Windows 365 customers will get free ESUs for the Windows 10 devices they’re using to connect to Windows 11 Cloud PCs. Moreover, the company will also offer free ESUs to customers who run a Windows 10 instance in Azure Virtual Desktop.

Even though Windows 11 has been on the market for 2 years, Windows 10 remains the most popular version of the OS by a pretty wide margin. According to data from Statcounter from November 2023, 68.02% of Windows users were running Windows 10 last month, and that percentage dropped to 26.63% for Windows 11.

In reality, Microsoft had no choice but to offer enterprise customers the same thing as the Windows 7 ESU program, which officially ended in January 2023. That was 14 years after the release of Windows 7, which also remained very popular during the Windows 8/8.1 era.

As it turns out, Windows 10 is about to become the new Windows 7, a version of the OS that’s both familiar and stable. Windows 11, however, came with a redesigned taskbar and Start Menu that required some time to get used to. Additionally, the OS launched with strict minimum hardware requirements (including a TPM 2.0 security chip) that made it impossible for many Windows 10 users to upgrade.

Microsoft plans to share more details about its Windows 10 ESU program closer to its availability. Last but not least, the company also announced that the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates program will also be available for individuals, which is a first.