Europe forces Microsoft into free prolonged assist for Home windows 10

Home windows 10 is formally unsupported beginning subsequent month… kind of. Maybe seeing the writing on the wall (which it wrote itself), Microsoft has given Home windows 10 holdouts an additional 12 months of safety updates, however you’ll must pay for it or do some busywork to qualify—except you reside in some European international locations, which have known as baloney on that.

The Euroconsumers group alerted Microsoft (PDF) that its requirement for customers to both activate Home windows Backup with an related Microsoft account, spend a bunch of Microsoft Rewards factors, or pay $30 to entry these additional safety updates was most likely in violation of the Digital Markets Act of 2022. This legislation forbids “gatekeeper” firms from limiting entry to services or products based mostly on circumstances to different merchandise from the identical firm.

In response, Microsoft says that it’s “making updates to the enrollment course of” for residents of the European Financial Space (most of western Europe, notably omitting the UK). Home windows 10 customers within the EEA gained’t must activate Home windows Backup, pay the payment, or redeem Rewards factors to get safety updates via October 14th, 2026. Microsoft confirmed a basic change in coverage to adjust to native legal guidelines to Home windows Central.

The remainder of us must begin stretching, as a result of these hoops gained’t bounce via themselves. However Microsoft has already backtracked on its October 2025 ultimatum a number of instances, maybe cautious of these half of all Home windows customers who haven’t upgraded to 11 but.

The market is at a really totally different place from the place it was when Home windows 8 misplaced assist, with loads of folks relying totally on smartphones for his or her digital lives (and many others not in search of an costly new laptop computer). I ponder if Microsoft will get chilly ft once more a 12 months from now.