These are your options when official support for Windows 10 ends to upgrade to Windows 11
Microsoft will stop shipping support for Windows 10 starting in October 2025 after 10 years and one of the highest market shares with 70% of users. The company is now betting on a 24H2 release with new advanced AI options.
This decision by Microsoft does not mean that users should immediately move to Windows 11. Windows 10 will continue to work, but the company will stop updates until it reaches a point where it becomes obsolete.
Compatibility issues will force millions of users to upgrade and buy computers, while others say they will ignore the move and continue using Windows 10. ZDNET warns that this is one of the worst ideas, as the device will be unprotected and more vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Also, buying a new computer is not convincing for many, so some people are thinking of replacing Windows 10 with Linux. This option will only be realistic for people or companies with experience.
- Pay a subscription to continue using Windows 10
Microsoft realizes that millions of computers will not be able to install the 24H2 release, so it has proposed a $61 annual subscription system. With this subscription, the company will continue to work on security updates for Windows 10.
These updates will be available for up to three years and will be done by device number. Windows 10 Education account users are in luck: The first year can be priced at $1, the second year at $2, and the third and final year at $4 in 2028.
The rest of the users will have to pay $61 per year. That translates to $114 for the second year and $228 for the third year to continue using Windows 10 on the old PC.
- Hardware update to support Windows 11
Users with an incompatible device have started seeing annoying ads on their computers. Microsoft does not recommend installing Windows 11 on a computer that does not meet the minimum requirements, so the only option to keep it is to upgrade the hardware.
The company is not responsible for side effects of installing Windows 11, but compatibility alerts do not prevent this from happening. Microsoft itself explained in an article how to perform this update.
The tech giant has confirmed that even the older TPM 1.2 chip will be compatible with some installations. TPM 1.2 was manufactured about 12 years ago and is found in many Windows PCs. If the chip is older, the best option would be to replace the PC.
More experienced users can install Windows 11 from the registry, but a more realistic option is to create a bootable installation drive. This technique bypasses the compatibility checker alerts and allows you to restore files from a backup or from the cloud.