Ask Engadget: What Are My Options When Windows 10 Support Ends On October 14?

Q: I'm proceeding that Microsoft is pulling nan plug connected Windows 10 later this year. What does that mean for my existent Windows 10 PC, and what are my options?

A: Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10 connected October 14, 2025, a small complete 10 years aft nan operating strategy was released. While you tin proceed to usage Windows 10 PCs aft that day — and it's understandable why, I gave it a glowing review astatine motorboat — you'll nary longer person immoderate customer support, information updates aliases immoderate different benignant of upgrades. Windows 10 will efficaciously go a zombie operating system, shuffling on until immoderate benignant of malware aliases monolithic information breach renders it acold excessively insecure. (Think astir it this way: Would you really consciousness safe moving Windows XP, a notoriously malware-prone OS that hasn't received a important information update since 2019, today? I would dream not!)

So what's a Windows 10 personification to do? Let's see your choices.

The champion option: Upgrade to Windows 11

For astir users, nan simplest measurement to move connected from Windows 10 is to measurement up to Microsoft's caller OS. Windows 11 is a free upgrade for Windows 10 users moving nan latest 22HS update and who besides meet nan minimum hardware specifications. Microsoft isn't asking for overmuch — conscionable a 1 GHz dual-core 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of retention -— but information requirements whitethorn beryllium a problem for very aged PCs. Those see nan expertise to motorboat successful Secure Boot mode, arsenic good arsenic having a TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform 2.0) module. Windows 11 relies connected nan second for biometric logins, BitLocker information encryption and different information features. If you don't person TPM 2.0, you'll beryllium stuck pinch Windows 10 until you get a caller PC. )

If that each sounds excessively complicated, Microsoft's PC Health Check app tin besides fto you cognize if your strategy is fresh for Windows 11. And if you've been bombarded by Windows 11 upgrade notifications complete nan past fewer years, that's besides a not-so-subtle nudge that your PC is apt fresh for nan caller OS. (There are various hacks that tin fto you instal Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, but they’re risky and could make your OS installation vulnerable.

If you do take to upgrade, you tin expect a comparatively painless process. Gone are nan days erstwhile a Windows upgrade could easy swipe retired your full system. Assuming you've sewage capable difficult thrust abstraction to clasp nan caller OS, now nan upgrade process is simply a matter of sitting backmost and watching your strategy reboot a fewer times. I'd still urge backing up immoderate basal information earlier upgrading, though, conscionable successful lawsuit you tally into immoderate issues. (Pairing a cloud-based Microsoft OneDrive backup pinch a local difficult disk is simply a bully loop and suspenders solution.)

The pricey option: Buy a caller PC

If your strategy is excessively aged to support Secure Boot mode and TPM 2.0, it’s astir apt conscionable clip for an upgrade. (Expert users tin find workarounds connected YouTube and elsewhere, but you request to beryllium adventurous capable to grip nan likes of Github downloads and information overrides.) Luckily, we’ve sewage a slew of buying guides to thief you out. Be judge to cheque retired our champion laptop guide, which includes immoderate tips connected nan champion specs to activity out, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of our favourite systems for illustration nan Dell 14 Premium and MacBook Air (because it’s besides a bully clip to see switching from Windows to Macs). Our best Windows laptops guide besides highlights systems for illustration nan ASUS ZenBook S14 and nan Surface Pro Copilot+ tablet. While nan sweetspot for caller PCs tends to beryllium successful nan $750 to $1,200 range, pinch existent back-to-school promos, you tin find very tin laptops and desktops for arsenic debased arsenic $500, and occasionally less. But if you're looking for thing higher extremity ($1,400 and up), our best gaming laptop guide would beryllium helpful.

The risky option: Keep connected trucking pinch Windows 10

Windows 10 won't self-destruct erstwhile its support ends, truthful you could conceivably conscionable usage your older PC until it dies. But that's a risky action since you won't beryllium getting immoderate information updates. All it takes is for 1 intrepid hacker to find a caller information flaw and you could easy autumn unfortunate to immoderate number of issues. That includes getting malware, which could slow down capacity and leak your information to hackers, aliases falling unfortunate to a ransomware information theft scheme. And each time past October 14 conscionable raises nan likelihood of OS-level vulnerabilities that third-party antivirus package would beryllium ill-equipped to conflict off. Trust maine – you don't want to do this. At nan very least, bargain yourself different twelvemonth to fig things out

The procrastinator option: Pay to widen Windows 10's information updates

If your hardware can't support nan move to Windows 11, you tin astatine slightest deed nan snooze fastener while you fig things out. For a one-time costs of $30 (or 1,000 Microsoft reward points), you tin subscribe to nan Windows 10 extended information update (ESU). As its sanction implies, nan ESU will get you Windows 10 information updates, bug fixes and method support until October 13, 2026. Sure, it's only a twelvemonth of further support, but that tin astatine slightest bargain you capable clip to do much investigation connected a caller PC, aliases hold for a vacation sale. For what it's worth, this marks nan first clip Microsoft has offered immoderate benignant of ESU to consumers. Typically, they're conscionable a measurement for firm IT admins to get further support without migrating to a caller OS.

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As tech reporters, nan Engadget unit is ever answering questions from friends and family astir electronics, software, gaming, large tech policies and more. So we decided to constitute down our answers. This mobility is simply a composite of ones we’ve been asked recently. If you’ve sewage a tech-related mobility you’d for illustration america to reply for you, please email ask@engadget.com.