Windows 10 users will have the option to sign up for paid security updates after Microsoft ends its official support for the system on October 14, 2025, the company has revealed in a new blog post, as picked up by The Verge.
The program is called Extended Security update or ESU, and will be extended to all Windows 10 users who wish to keep using the OS once it reaches the end of its official support. While Microsoft has previously offered a similar option to organizations who needed to continue with an older OS, Windows 10 will also have an ESU program for individuals.
Extended support will be offered in the form of critical and important security updates, and will be available as a yearly paid subscription. Microsoft says it will only be providing security updates as part of this program, and won’t include: “new features, customer-requested non-security updates, or design change requests,” or “technical support beyond the ESU.”
“While we strongly recommend moving to Windows 11, we understand there are circumstances that could prevent you from replacing Windows 10 devices before the EOS date,” Microsoft says about the program.
It will also be extending ESUs for free in some cases involving cloud computing, including Windows 365 customers using Windows 10 devices that connect to a Cloud PC running Windows 11, or customers running a Windows 10 instance in Azure Virtual Desktop.
Microsoft hasn’t revealed pricing for the Windows 10 ESU program yet, and still has yet to release any information about what the program will look like for individual customers.
Microsoft officially ended sales for Windows 10 in January this year, and is continuing to plan for its end of support within the next two year, with the blog post also offering advice for organizations looking to upgrade to Windows 11 before 2025.
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