Windows 10 updates won’t be free after 2025 — here’s why (2024)

FAQs

Will Windows 10 still get updates after 2025? ›

When support ends in October 2025, Windows 10 will still function, but will no longer receive fixes, new features, or security updates.

Windows 10 Home and Pro follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy. Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. The current version, 22H2, will be the final version of Windows 10, and all editions will remain in support with monthly security update releases through that date.

That loophole officially closed on September 20, 2023, when Microsoft posted an inconspicuous announcement on a website for its hardware partners. (For details, see "It's official: No more free Windows 10 upgrades".)

Your PC will continue to work, but support for Windows 10 is discontinued. After October 14, 2025, your Windows 10 PC will no longer receive security updates and Microsoft will no longer be available to provide Windows 10 technical support.

If you continue to use an unsupported version of Windows, your PC will still work, but it will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Your PC will continue to start and run, but you will no longer receive software updates, including security updates, from Microsoft.

On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will end support for Windows 10. Windows Update will stop delivering security updates, and unless you take action, you'll be a sitting duck, much as if you were still using Windows XP or Windows 7.

What happens to my PC when Windows 10 reaches the end of support date? As of 14 October 2025, PCs running Windows 10 will still function, but Microsoft will no longer provide the following: Technical support. Feature updates.

When a Windows version reaches its end-of-support date, the software keeps working, but the update channel grinds to a halt: [There] will be no new security updates, non-security updates, or assisted support. Customers are encouraged to migrate to the latest version of the product or service.

Windows 11, version 22H2 will reach the end of updates on October 8, 2024. This applies to the following editions released in September of 2022: Home.

Why is Microsoft ending Windows 10? ›

Ending support for Windows 10 allows Microsoft to focus its resources on newer operating systems, such as Windows 11, which offers enhanced features, security, and performance.

Windows 11 is the newest version of Windows. However, we will continue to support Windows 10 until October 14, 2025. If I upgrade to Windows 11, what happens to my files? By default, all your files and data will transfer.

Microsoft kept giving away free upgrades to Windows 10 on old hardware for more than eight years. The upgrades officially ended in 2023, but I've seen scattered reports that it still works for some people. So, do you feel lucky?

Microsoft shut down its free Windows 10 upgrade program five years ago in November 2017. If you didn't get your free version of its best operating system to date, you were pretty much out of luck.

There is no free versions of Windows 10, thy provide the download on their website on the Internet for people who have a Windows licence, so they can re-install Windows any time they need to.

On Oct. 14, 2025, Microsoft will officially end public support for Windows 10 — that means no more software updates, security patches, or technical support for your Windows 10 computer, no matter how well it still works.

What happens if I continue to use a version of Windows 10 that has reached end of service? Your computer will still work, but it could become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses because you won't receive new security updates or other quality updates.

PCs running Windows 10 continue to work just as they always have, and they will do so indefinitely. From that date forward, however, those PCs will no longer receive security fixes through Windows Update unless their owners pay Microsoft for an Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription.