Windows 10 end of support: what to actually do about it

What Windows 10 end of support actually means

On October 14, 2025, Microsoft stopped shipping regular updates for Windows 10. The headlines made it sound like computers came with an expiration date. They don't. Nothing shut off and nothing got deleted.

What stopped was the monthly patching. New security holes turn up in Windows all the time, and on a supported PC they get closed a few weeks later. On an unsupported one they stay open for good, and the pile grows every month. Nothing bad happens on day one, but the odds get worse the longer it goes.

Microsoft's answer for home users is Extended Security Updates, or ESU. It keeps sending the security fixes (no new features, just patches) to Windows 10 PCs that sign up.

Key dates

How to get Windows 10 ESU for free

First, make sure you're on version 22H2

ESU only works on the last release of Windows 10, called 22H2. To check, press Windows + R, type winver, and hit Enter. You want to see this:

An older number like 21H2 means you're behind. Go to Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update and keep installing and restarting until it says you're up to date. On a PC that's been ignored for a while, that can take two or three rounds.

What else you need

Windows 10 Home or Pro with the latest updates, plus a Microsoft account (the kind you'd use for Outlook.com, OneDrive, or Xbox) that's an administrator on the PC. Work and school computers get ESU through their IT department, so this part is for home machines.

How to enroll

1. Open Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update.
2. Find the notice about Windows 10 support and click Enroll now.
3. Sign in with your Microsoft account if it asks.
4. Pick how you want to enroll (see below) and click through.
5. Check Windows Update again over the next day or two. ESU patches show up like any other update.

The three ways to enroll

I'd take the free option. If syncing settings to Microsoft bugs you, $30 is a fair price for the patches, and one license covers up to 10 PCs signed in with the same Microsoft account. That's the whole house for one payment.

Do you have to re-enroll for year 2?

No. Microsoft says PCs that are already enrolled stay covered through October 12, 2027 with no action needed. Keep installing updates like normal.

Can you use ESU without a Microsoft account?

Not really. You need a Microsoft account to enroll, and you have to keep using it. Microsoft has said that if the account isn't used to sign in to the PC for 60 days, ESU updates stop and you'd have to enroll again. Signing up with a Microsoft account and then switching back to a local account doesn't get around it.

If you use a local account on purpose, the easiest middle ground is to sign in to Windows with the Microsoft account and leave it that way.

"Enroll now" not showing? Try these, in order

1. Check the version. Run winver again. Anything other than 22H2 won't get the option.
2. Install every update. The enrollment option arrives with Windows Update itself, so keep clicking Check for updates and restarting until nothing's left.
3. Sign in with the right account. It has to be a Microsoft account that's an administrator on the PC. A child account won't work, and neither will a local account.
4. Make sure it's not a work PC. Open Settings → Accounts → Access work or school. If it shows the PC is joined to a company domain or managed by an organization, the home program won't appear. Ask that IT department, or have the PC released if it's really yours now.
5. Give it a day. After the last update installs, the option can take a while to show up. Restart, wait, and check again.

What about Office, Edge, and antivirus?

Those run on their own schedules. Microsoft has said Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook will keep getting security fixes on Windows 10 until October 2028, and Defender keeps getting virus definitions past that. Keep your browser updated too. These days that's how most junk gets in, whatever version of Windows you run.

Can your PC run Windows 11?

ESU buys time, but it won't last forever. If your computer qualifies for Windows 11, the upgrade is free and takes care of the problem for years.

Age is a decent first guess. A PC from 2018 or later usually qualifies, and one from before that usually doesn't. The actual cutoff is the processor (Intel 8th generation or newer, AMD Ryzen 2000 or newer) plus a security chip called TPM 2.0.

My own laptops land on both sides of that line. The ThinkPad T440 I used for years has a 4th-gen Intel chip, so Windows 11 turns it away, even though it still handles web and email fine. The ThinkPad T15 I'm writing this on has a 10th-gen chip and runs Windows 11 without any tricks.

To check yours, download Microsoft's free PC Health Check app and click Check now. If it passes, the upgrade will be waiting in Windows Update. Back up your files first. The upgrade keeps them, but it's not worth finding out the hard way. (My backup guide walks through it.)

If it only complains about TPM 2.0

The chip may just be switched off. Plenty of 2018 and 2019 PCs shipped that way. To check, press Windows + R, type tpm.msc, and press Enter. If it says "Compatible TPM cannot be found," it's probably turned off in the BIOS, the settings screen that runs before Windows starts.

1. Restart and tap the setup key as the PC starts. It's usually F2, F1 (Lenovo), F10 (HP), or Del.
2. Look under Security or Advanced for a setting called TPM, PTT (Intel), fTPM (AMD), or Security Chip (ThinkPads).
3. Turn it on, save, and exit. That's usually F10.
4. Back in Windows, run PC Health Check again.

If that sounds like gibberish, it's a five-minute job for whoever in your family is good with computers.

Your options before October 2027

Wondering how risky it is to just keep going as you are? I wrote a separate guide: Is Windows 10 still safe to use in 2026?

For most people the order goes like this: enroll in ESU now, then use the next year to decide between Windows 11, a cheap upgrade, or a good refurbished machine.

Things I wouldn't do

Trust a pop-up or phone call about your "expired" Windows. Microsoft doesn't call people. If a web page is flashing warnings and giving you a number to call, close the browser. If it won't close, restart the PC.

Pay a stranger for a Windows 10 "extension." The only real one is Microsoft's ESU, and for most people it's free.

Force Windows 11 onto hardware that doesn't qualify, at least not on a computer you depend on. The workarounds mostly work, but Microsoft doesn't promise those PCs will keep getting updates, so you've swapped one problem for a similar one.

Buy a new PC just to beat a deadline. Memory and storage prices shot up in 2026, and new computers got pricier with them. With the deadline now a year out, you can wait for a deal.