Microsoft wants $30 to let you keep using Windows 10 securely for another year

Microsoft is yet revealing that it volition complaint consumers $30 for a twelvemonth of other information updates to Windows 10. Support for Windows 10 volition extremity connected October 14th, 2025, but consumers volition beryllium capable to acquisition a azygous twelvemonth of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for $30 for the archetypal clip ever.

While businesses volition beryllium charged $61 for a azygous twelvemonth of ESU, they besides person the enactment to wage $122 for a 2nd twelvemonth and past $244 for a 3rd twelvemonth of updates. Microsoft volition lone connection consumers a azygous twelvemonth if they’re consenting to wage the $30 fee. “Enrolled PCs volition proceed to person Critical and Important information updates for Windows 10; however, caller features, bug fixes, and method enactment volition nary longer beryllium disposable from Microsoft,” explains Yusuf Mehdi, enforcement vice president and user main selling serviceman astatine Microsoft.

Consumers volition beryllium capable to enroll successful the ESU programme “closer to the extremity of enactment successful 2025.” Naturally, Microsoft is erstwhile again encouraging consumers to upgrade to Windows 11 alternatively of purchasing extended information updates for Windows 10. “With the Windows 10 End of Support moment, present is the clip to determination to Windows 11 with confidence,” says Mehdi.

That determination to Windows 11 whitethorn impact buying a caller PC. Millions of PCs can’t upgrade officially to Windows 11 owed to much strict hardware requirements and Microsoft’s information propulsion with its latest OS. Windows 11 is lone supported connected CPUs released from 2018 onward and with devices that enactment TPM information chips.

Windows 11 adoption has been lagging down Windows 10 successful caller years, but determination are signs radical are starting to upgrade much oregon refresh their hardware. Windows 11 concisely became the most fashionable OS for PC gaming among Steam users successful August, earlier dropping backmost down Windows 10 successful September. It’s apt that Windows 10 usage volition proceed to stay beardown passim 2025 and beyond.

After primitively saying it was done with large Windows 10 updates successful 2023, Microsoft switched up its attack earlier this twelvemonth successful a confusing determination that could assistance Windows 10 usage stay strong. The bundle elephantine took the antithetic measurement of reopening its beta programme for Windows 10 users successful June to trial caller features and improvements to an OS that it’s expected to beryllium ending enactment for adjacent year.