Windows 10 End of Life: The latest update options and how to protect your PC

Support for Windows 10 ends on October 14 this week. Here's everything you need to know about how your PC is at risk, and what you can do to remain secure.

News
By last updated
Windows 10 running on a laptop with desktop elements displayed on its screen
(Image: © Zac Bowden | Windows Central)

From October 14, your Windows 10 PC will have reached end of life (EOL.) Microsoft is ending mainstream support for Windows 10 after a decade on the market, and is encouraging all users to switch to Windows 11. If you are still running Windows 10 after October 14, there are steps you must take to ensure your PC remains secure.

ALL Windows 10 users across Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions are impacted by this end-of-support date. Everyone using these editions of Windows 10 will need to take action manually to ensure their devices remain secure beyond October 14. Doing nothing will result in your PC being unsecured on the internet.

➡️ See all of our important Windows 10 End of Life coverage

If you are unable to upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft is offering an additional year of security updates on Windows 10 for users that sign-up to its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. This program will ensure your PC remains secure with security updates for an additional year, until October 2026.

Without the ESU program, your PC will become susceptible to any potential security vulnerabilities that are discovered in the Windows OS after October 14. The ESU program is free, though there are some hoops you need to jump through to enroll. In this article, we'll keep you up to date on everything you need to know about Windows 10's end of support and how you can stay safe over the coming week as support ends.

LIVE UPDATES

Click to follow Windows Central on Google News

Follow Windows Central on Google News to keep our latest news, insights, and features at the top of your feeds!

Refresh

Here's what you should do if you can't move from Windows 10

If moving off from Windows 10 isn't an option for you, there's a quick and easy way for you to remain secure on Windows 10 beyond October 14.

Microsoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) program will allow users to continue receiving security updates on Windows 10 for an additional year beyond October 2025, and access to the program is free if you choose to sign in with a Microsoft account and sync your PC settings to the cloud. Alternatively, you can pay $30 or 1,000 Microsoft reward points.

If you live in the European Economic Area, the program is free without needing to sync your PC settings to the cloud. However, Microsoft will want you to sign-in with a Microsoft account at least once every 60 days to remain in the ESU program, or your PC will be removed and will stop getting security updates.

Learn how to enroll into the ESU program with our handy in-depth guide!

Windows 10 support ends TOMORROW

It's crunch time, everyone!

Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 tomorrow, on October 14, 2025. On this date, Microsoft will release one final mainstream security update for all Windows 10 users, which should keep you protected for an extra month, until November 11, which will be when Windows 10 misses its first security update, and becomes no longer secure against the latest security vulnerabilities.

Users that sign up to Microsoft's ESU program will continue to receive a security updates on and after November 11, up until October 2026. So make sure you enroll into the ESU program now to secure your place.