I am sticking with Home windows 10 even after it dies in October. Here is how
On October 14th, 2025, Microsoft will formally finish help for Home windows 10, negating the corporate’s early promise that Home windows 10 was going to be “the final model of Home windows.” As an alternative, six years after it launched in 2015, Microsoft launched Home windows 11.
It’s now been 4 years since Home windows 11’s launch and Microsoft is bored with ready for customers to change over. As of September 2025, Home windows 11 and Home windows 10 are nonetheless neck and neck in the case of world market share, and Microsoft clearly desires to nudge issues alongside.
However what does it imply that Home windows 10 help ends subsequent month? Nicely, permit me to clarify! Not solely that, however I’m going to inform you why I’m sticking with Home windows 10 and the way I plan to take action.
Time is operating out for Home windows 10
As soon as October 14th rolls round, Home windows 10 PCs will not obtain safety updates or bug fixes, not to mention new options. This implies the longer you retain utilizing it, the extra susceptible to malware and hackers your PC will develop into (as a result of they’ll exploit yet-undiscovered safety flaws that received’t be patched in your PC). And in case you run into system troubles together with your PC, Microsoft received’t present technical help.
Dave Parrack / Foundry
As-is, this has scared plenty of customers into lastly taking the plunge and upgrading to Home windows 11, both by initiating a Home windows Replace or shopping for a brand new machine with Home windows 11 pre-installed. However Statcounter’s market share stats present that lots of of hundreds of thousands of customers are nonetheless refusing to improve—myself included.
I knew finish of help for Home windows 10 has been coming for some time, but I didn’t care sufficient to improve and I nonetheless haven’t any intention to improve. I’m sticking with Home windows 10. Sure, I’m conscious of the dangers, however I’ve methods to get round them. (Extra on that under.)
My present PC isn’t ok
Microsoft is determined for holdouts resembling myself to maneuver on from Home windows 10, however the numbers counsel that manner too many individuals are outright refusing Home windows 11 for numerous causes.
Why am I staying on Home windows 10? The most important cause is that my PC apparently doesn’t qualify for Home windows 11. I ran the Home windows PC Well being Verify app and located that my Intel Core i3 (on my seven-year-old laptop computer) isn’t supported by Home windows 11. To improve, I’d both have to purchase and set up a brand new CPU (no thanks) or purchase a brand new PC completely (no thanks). Why spend pointless cash when my present PC works simply positive?
Dave Parrack / Foundry
Why doesn’t my CPU qualify for Home windows 11? Who is aware of. I doubt Microsoft even has a superb reply. Perhaps my laptop computer would choke on Home windows 11 as a result of it’s far more bloated, or possibly it’d work simply in addition to Home windows 10 does. Perhaps Microsoft simply desires to provide me a cause to desert ship and purchase a brand new laptop computer.
However my laptop computer works effectively! And that’s the crux of the matter for me. It’s greater than able to doing all the pieces I want, and I’m not a Home windows energy consumer so I don’t want something extra. This appears like deliberate obsolescence to me… and I hate that. It’s a waste of a superbly good laptop computer and I refuse to show it into e-waste. I’m additionally unimpressed by Microsoft’s potential trade-in program for Home windows 10 PCs.
Dave Parrack / Foundry
As for Home windows 11, I simply don’t take care of it. I’ve used it on different folks’s PCs a number of occasions and it actually doesn’t really feel like a lot of an improve. Certain, there are some noticeable enhancements, however none of them are large enough and revolutionary sufficient to justify laying down lots of of greenbacks on new {hardware}.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the bugs and glitches which have plagued Home windows 11 since 24H2! There’s no manner I’d willingly topic myself to that type of frustration.
Dave Parrack / Foundry
It additionally doesn’t assist that, as I’ve written about earlier than, I take advantage of a Chromebook for many of my on a regular basis actions. Which implies that my Home windows 10 PC has been pushed to the sidelines a bit, solely there for these occasions once I want it as a substitute of my Chromebook.
Am I simply getting outdated?
One concern that has crossed my thoughts is, possibly this all is simply an age factor. As I strategy 50, may or not it’s I’m reaching that stage of life the place I want to stay with acquainted tech and don’t need to hassle with “the following factor”? I don’t bear in mind having these similar emotions once I needed to improve from Home windows XP to Vista or from Home windows 7 to 10. It very effectively could possibly be (no less than partly) a “me drawback” right here.
Nonetheless, I can’t deny that Microsoft is making me really feel backed right into a nook and eager to push again, carrying on with the {hardware} I’ve been utilizing for a number of years. I’m resentful that this multibillion-dollar firm is mainly forcing me to purchase a brand new pc and change to an inferior working system as a substitute of working Home windows 11 right into a product so good and fascinating that it makes me need to change.
Don’t get me unsuitable. I don’t suppose there’s something dangerous about Home windows 11. It simply hasn’t given me a compelling cause to improve. If I may freely improve while not having a brand new PC, positive, possibly I’d do it. However with it coming with an actual value, I’m selecting to stay with Home windows 10.
Methods to persist with Home windows 10 (for now)
For those who’re in the same place as me and need to maintain utilizing Home windows 10 even after the top of help date passes, you might have a number of totally different choices on going about it safely and securely. No matter you do, don’t simply maintain utilizing it in its unsupported state. And not using a continued supply of safety updates, you’d simply be asking for hassle.
As an alternative, you’ll need to join Microsoft’s Prolonged Safety Updates (ESU) program. By enrolling your PC within the ESU program, you’ll get one additional 12 months of Home windows 10 safety updates.
Microsoft
There are literally 3 ways to affix the Home windows 10 ESU program. A sound Microsoft account is required for all three choices:
Possibility #1: Pay $30. It is a flat one-time charge that unlocks the additional 12 months of Home windows 10 safety updates with no different strings hooked up (aside from needing a Microsoft account). Worth might differ in case you’re outdoors the US.
Possibility #2: Allow Home windows Backup. Home windows Backup is a free function that backs up chosen recordsdata, folders, and settings to OneDrive so that you don’t lose them even when your PC dies, will get misplaced, or stolen. After activating Home windows Backup, your Home windows 10 PC will get prolonged updates.
Possibility #3: Spend 1,000 Microsoft Rewards factors. As an alternative of paying $30, you may as a substitute join Microsoft Rewards and begin incomes factors by doing issues like looking on Bing, taking part in choose video games on Xbox One, shopping for stuff on the Microsoft Retailer, and so on. Factors can then be redeemed for prolonged safety updates.
If any of those choices sound good, you need to be capable to enroll your PC within the Home windows 10 ESU program by way of a banner on the top-right nook of your Home windows Replace settings web page.
There’s additionally one other unofficial choice
If none of Microsoft’s official ESU choices appear good to you—possibly you don’t need to create a Microsoft account in any respect—then there’s yet another factor you may attempt, however this path has caveats.
There’s a free third-party device known as UpDownTool that allegedly offers a number of extra years of help for Home windows 10. How does it work? By changing your PC to Home windows 10 LTSC (“Lengthy-Time period Servicing Channel”), which is a particular cut-down model of Home windows 10 that isn’t meant for general-use PCs. Home windows 10 LTSC has common help till January twelfth, 2027 in addition to prolonged help till January thirteenth, 2032.
UpDownTool
UpDownTool is definitely aimed toward Home windows 11 customers who remorse upgrading and need to revert again to Home windows 10. Nonetheless, it will probably nonetheless be utilized by folks on Home windows 10 (or every other model of Home windows) to change over to Home windows 10 LTSC.
By switching to Home windows 10 LTSC, you’ll find yourself with a PC that mainly runs on Home windows 10 besides with none of the same old bloatware or any of the nagging pop-ups about upgrading to Home windows 11. The caveat is that Home windows 10 LTSC doesn’t get function updates, doesn’t help the Microsoft Retailer, and doesn’t help apps which can be frequently maintained by way of the Microsoft Retailer, resembling Microsoft Edge.
Once more, UpDownTool is a third-party device that isn’t formally supported by Microsoft, so use it as your personal threat in case you select this path.
It’s nonetheless Home windows 10 for me
I’m more than likely going to enroll my PC within the Home windows 10 ESU program by activating Home windows Backup earlier than the October 14th deadline, which is able to maintain my PC safe and guarded till no less than October thirteenth, 2026.
Past that, I’m undecided on how I’ll transfer ahead. I’ll lastly chunk the bullet on a brand new PC that comes with Home windows 11, however I’m additionally tempted to desert Home windows altogether in favor of ChromeOS—and if I find yourself doing that, Microsoft will solely have itself guilty.
Additional studying: The very best Chromebooks which can be really nice
