Next year, in October 2025, Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10. Although it has been a good travel companion, version 11 of the operating system is mature enough to be a worthy successor to the one that , to date, has been the most innovative and well-received Microsoft operating system in the past 15 years, surpassed only by Windows XP in terms of public affection.
However, seeing that there is a lot of hysteria on the Internet about this, I would like to clarify that what ends is official support. The operating system can still be used by anyone, what happens is that will be infinitely more vulnerable What if he had some sort of support from Redmond. And not only will you not have security updates, but you also won’t be able to take advantage of new Windows Defender guidelines and settings.
This is the Windows 10 ESU program
This is a problem for many users. Concretely, there are two profiles that stand out quite badly from here. The first concerns those who come from the business sector, who may have difficulty updating their equipment. And the second is the user who cannot afford a computer compatible with Windows 11 requirements.
For this type of user, Microsoft obviously offers a paid “alternative”. This means that you will be able to enjoy extended support for at least three years. The cost of the service is 61 dollars (in dollars it is the same thing) per year and per team. If you have three teams, then your annual cost would be 183 dollars. Microsoft raises its the ESU program as a temporary solution, not something long term; a way to help the user.
Enrolling in the Windows 10 ESU program allows you to continue receiving monthly security updates for your Windows 10 devices. This way, you have more time to complete your migration to Windows 11.
Extended Security Updates are not intended to be a long-term solution, but rather a temporary bridge. ESUs do not include new features, non-security fixes, or design change requests. The ESU program does not extend support for Windows 10. Support is limited to activating ESU licenses, installing monthly ESU updates, and troubleshooting issues that may have been caused by an update itself.
You can purchase ESU licenses for Windows 10 devices that you don’t plan to upgrade to Windows 11 starting in October 2024, one year before the end of support date.
The fine print here is that since the program starts, which is 2025, updates will be paid for even if you sign up later. Let me explain. If you decide to join in 2027, you will have to pay the 2026 contribution even if you were not registered. And that’s because Microsoft offers this as a way to pay for updates and not per year itself.
It’s certainly not what many people would have wanted, but we have to at least thank Microsoft for providing a temporary solution for some users and organizations.
