Windows 10 reached its end of support on October 14, 2025. That date has come and gone, and if you’re still on Windows 10 — millions of machines are — the question now isn’t whether to act but how. The PC didn’t stop working, which is exactly why it’s easy to ignore. The risk is quiet and it builds slowly.
Here’s the plain version: after that date, Microsoft no longer ships free security updates for Windows 10. Every new vulnerability discovered from now on stays unpatched on your machine unless you’ve taken one of a few specific steps. This guide explains what end of support actually means, walks through your four realistic options, and gives you a checklist to land on the right one for each PC you’re responsible for.
What “end of support” really means
Three things stop on the end-of-support date, and it’s worth being precise about each because they’re often blurred together.
What you lose on October 14, 2025
| Security updates | No more free patches for newly discovered vulnerabilities (unless enrolled in ESU). |
|---|---|
| Feature & quality updates | No new features, and no non-security bug fixes. |
| Standard technical support | Microsoft support won't troubleshoot Windows 10 issues for you. |
What you keep is everything else: the OS runs, Microsoft 365 apps keep opening (though Microsoft is winding down its own support for Office on Windows 10 over time), your data stays put, and third-party software continues to work until each vendor decides to drop Windows 10 itself.
The security gap is the one that matters. Attackers actively look for unpatched systems because they’re predictable targets — a flaw found six months from now will simply never be fixed on an unsupported machine. That’s why a Windows 10 PC is reasonably safe the day support ends and steadily less safe every month after.
Your four options
Everyone on Windows 10 lands on one of four paths. They’re not equally good, and the right one depends on your hardware and how much the PC matters.
Option 1: Upgrade to Windows 11 (free, if eligible)
For most people this is the answer. If your PC meets the Windows 11 hardware requirements, the upgrade is free and keeps your files and apps. The requirements are stricter than older Windows releases, and three checks block most upgrades:
- TPM 2.0 — often present but switched off in firmware
- Secure Boot — must be supported, with the PC in UEFI mode
- A supported CPU — roughly Intel 8th-gen and newer, AMD Ryzen 2000 and newer
TPM and Secure Boot are frequently just disabled rather than missing, and you can usually turn them on yourself. The CPU list is the hard wall — there’s no setting that adds an unsupported processor. Our full walkthrough on upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11 covers the eligibility check and every install path; if the only blocker is the chip, enabling TPM 2.0 for Windows 11 is worth checking first since many PCs pass once it’s turned on.
Option 2: Enrol in Extended Security Updates (ESU)
If you can’t upgrade yet but need to keep the machine safe, ESU buys time. It’s a paid program that continues delivering critical and important security updates past the end-of-support date for a limited window. With Windows 10, Microsoft offered a consumer ESU option for the first time, alongside the commercial/business ESU that organisations have used in past Windows transitions.
Two things to be clear about: ESU is security-only — no features, no general support — and it’s time-limited. It’s a bridge while you arrange a proper move, not a way to run Windows 10 forever.
Option 3: Replace the PC
If the machine fails the Windows 11 CPU check and it’s old enough that the rest is showing its age, a new PC clears the whole question. It ships with Windows 11, it’s supported for years, and you skip the firmware fiddling entirely. This is the honest choice for an aging primary machine you can’t afford to have go unpatched.
The cost is real, but weigh it against the alternative: an unpatched daily-driver handling your email and banking is a liability that grows every month.
Option 4: Stay on Windows 10 and accept the risk
Sometimes valid, often not. A PC that’s offline, runs a single legacy application, or sits in an isolated environment may be fine on Windows 10 for a while. A machine that touches the internet, email, or sensitive data is a poor candidate for this — the risk only goes one direction.
If you do stay, at least reduce the exposure: keep your browser and antivirus current (third-party vendors support Windows 10 longer than Microsoft does), don’t use it for high-value logins, and isolate it from the rest of your network where you can.
A checklist to decide
Run each Windows 10 PC you own through this. It points you at the right option without overthinking it.
Decide what to do with each PC
- Does it meet Windows 11 requirements? Run PC Health Check to get a yes/no with the exact reason
- If it fails only on TPM or Secure Boot, check firmware — those are usually fixable in minutes
- If it fails on the CPU, decide between ESU (short-term) and replacing the machine
- Back up your files now, regardless of which path you pick
- Note any hardware-locked software licences you'd need to reactivate after a move
- For a PC you'll keep on Windows 10, isolate it and keep browser/AV updated
- Set a date — don't let 'it still works' turn into a year of running unpatched
The single most useful step is the first one. PC Health Check turns a vague worry into a specific answer: eligible, fix the firmware, or the CPU is the blocker. Those three results lead to completely different plans, and guessing wastes time.
Don’t skip the backup
Whatever you decide, back up first. An in-place upgrade to Windows 11 is designed to keep your files, but “designed to” isn’t “guaranteed to” — upgrades can stall or roll back. Replacing a PC means moving data off the old one. Even staying put is safer with a recent backup, because an unpatched machine is exactly the kind that eventually has a bad day.
If your drive is encrypted with BitLocker, locate your recovery key before you change anything — upgrades and firmware changes can trigger a recovery prompt. Here’s how to find your BitLocker recovery key so a planned change doesn’t lock you out.
Wrapping up
Windows 10’s end of support on October 14, 2025 doesn’t break your PC, but it does start a clock. The safe, free move for most machines is upgrading to Windows 11 — run PC Health Check, fix the firmware settings if TPM or Secure Boot are the only blockers, and you’re done. If the CPU rules your PC out, ESU buys short-term breathing room while you plan, and replacing the machine is the clean long-term answer for anything you depend on.
The one option to avoid drifting into by accident is staying on an unpatched Windows 10 for an internet-connected machine you use every day. Pick a path, set a date, and back up before you start.
