Windows 10 support ends 2025: Microsoft urges upgrade
Windows 10 will lose standard support in October 2025, as Microsoft has decided to remind users once again. Consequently, full-screen ads for the newer Windows 11 and computers utilizing Copilot Plus AI appear in the system.
The Verge highlights the details. Full-screen offers in Windows are not new and are a well-known tactic Microsoft uses to promote other products. This time, the goal is justified, as the manufacturer draws users' attention to the fact that Windows 10's standard support ends in a year and does not propose extending it for a fee, although that option will be available. Instead, it suggests upgrading to the newer Windows 11, ideally when purchasing a new laptop.
The end of support for Windows 10 in October 2025 means the end of security updates. Theoretically, from then on, the system will be unsafe to use or at least more vulnerable to attacks exploiting known vulnerabilities. The most serious ones will likely still be patched for some time, but Microsoft will not be obligated to do so as a rule.
The information about the end of support for Windows 10 is significant because a remarkable majority of "Windows" users still use 10. According to StatCounter data, in October 2024, almost 61% of Windows users were using Windows 10, while the newer 11 had a little over 35%. Interestingly, filtering the data to the Polish market results in only a slight adjustment, with 60% and 38% of the market, respectively.
Even though the process is free, the lack of willingness to upgrade Windows 10 to 11 may, in many cases, result from technical limitations. The newer system requires a TPM 2.0 module, which was not necessarily present on computer motherboards at the time of Windows 11's release. If users have not upgraded to newer computers since then (often, they simply may not need to due to satisfactory performance), technically, their hardware still does not meet Windows 11's minimum requirements, and its installation is not officially recommended.
