Preparing for Windows 10 End of Life: Upgrade, Extend, or Adapt
Windows 10 reaches end of support on October 15, 2025. After that date, Microsoft will no longer release security patches or quality updates for consumer editions. You’ll still be able to use your PC, but it will become increasingly vulnerable to emerging threats and software incompatibilities.
Is It Time to Replace Your PC?
If your machine is more than five years old, it’s likely approaching hardware obsolescence. Components such as batteries, spinning hard drives, and aging thermal paste degrade over time, leading to sluggish performance, unexpected shutdowns, or even data loss.
Look for signs of hardware fatigue: noisy fans, slow boot times, and frequent hangs.
Consider your workload: modern productivity suites, web apps, and virtualization demand more RAM and CPU cycles than older systems can reliably deliver.
Factor in warranty and repair costs: a new entry-level laptop or desktop often costs less than a single major repair on a legacy machine.
Extending Windows 10 Support on a Budget
If replacing your PC isn’t feasible right now, you can still receive critical security updates through Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10. This program offers up to three additional years of paid patches after end of support.
Click the Start button and type Windows Update.
Select Check for updates in the Settings window.
Look for an Enroll now link or button under the “Quality Updates” section.
Sign in with your Microsoft Account—or create one—when prompted.
Once enrolled, your device will download and install ESU patches just like any regular security update.