Section
Windows 10 in 2026: what's actually true
Free support ended in October 2025, but Extended Security Updates run to October 12, 2027, and cost nothing for most home users. Here's what that means and what to do about it.
Four deadlines, one table
| What | Supported until | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 itself | Oct 14, 2025 passed | Free updates ended. Without ESU your PC is unpatched today. |
| Windows 10 with ESU | Oct 12, 2027 free for most | Security patches continue. You can enroll any time until the program ends. How to enroll. |
| Microsoft 365 apps Word, Excel, Outlook | Oct 10, 2028 a year longer | Security fixes continue; features freeze at version 2608. |
| Microsoft Edge | Oct 2028 a year longer | Your browser keeps getting security fixes after the OS stops. |
Sources: Microsoft ESU, Microsoft Learn. One trap: Microsoft's documentation also lists a "Year 3" ending October 2028, but that table covers business editions only. Home users end in October 2027 unless Microsoft says otherwise.
The short version
Windows 10 stopped getting free updates on October 14, 2025. Microsoft's Extended Security Updates program picks up from there, and in June 2026 Microsoft extended it by a year to October 12, 2027, with no press release. Existing enrollees rolled over automatically.
For most home users ESU is free: you sync your PC settings or spend 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Otherwise it's a one-time $30 fee, and one enrollment covers up to ten PCs on the same account. The one hard requirement is a Microsoft account; local accounts can't enroll.
About 30% of Windows desktops still run Windows 10 (StatCounter, August 2026), and that share has stopped falling. You have company, and you have time. Enroll first, then read the rest.
Guides
Windows 10
How to get free Windows 10 security updates until 2027
ESU is free for most people and takes five minutes. The steps, the routes, and the catches.
Windows 10
Can your PC run Windows 11? Check before you buy anything
TPM is often just switched off. The CPU list is the real wall. How to find out which one you've hit.
Windows 10
Windows 10 end of support: the questions people actually ask
Is it still safe? Is ESU really free? Do I need a new PC? Short, sourced answers.
Windows 10
Switching from Windows 10 to a Mac: what it really costs
The expensive path. Real prices after the June 2026 increase, and the people it's wrong for.
Tools
Two-minute questionnaires that apply Microsoft's rules for you.
If you're keeping the PC
The parts that make a Windows 10 machine feel new, and a backup drive, which you need regardless.
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