Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. If your business is still running it today, here’s what that actually means, and what your options are.
What “end of support” actually means
Since 14 October 2025, Microsoft no longer provides free security updates, bug fixes, or technical support for Windows 10. The operating system still runs, your devices haven’t stopped working, but every newly discovered vulnerability since that date has gone unpatched on any device not specifically enrolled in Extended Security Updates (ESU).
This isn’t a future deadline to plan for anymore. It has already happened.
What ESU actually covers, and what it doesn’t
Microsoft is offering a paid bridge programme, but the terms are worth understanding properly.
For businesses, ESU is priced per device and rises sharply each year: roughly $61 per device for the first year (through October 2026), doubling to around $122 for a second year, and doubling again to around $244 for a third and final year, with coverage ending entirely in October 2028. Pricing must be purchased annually and in sequence — a business that skips a year cannot simply buy the following year’s coverage on its own, prior years must be purchased retroactively. For a business with even a modest number of Windows 10 devices, this adds up quickly and gets more expensive the longer a decision is delayed.
Critically, ESU only covers critical and important security patches. It does not include new features, general bug fixes, or technical support from Microsoft. It is explicitly designed as a temporary bridge to give businesses time to migrate, not a long-term alternative to upgrading.
A new risk arriving in 2026: Secure Boot certificate expiry
Beyond the ESU pricing structure, there’s a separate, more technical issue worth knowing about. Microsoft’s original Secure Boot certificates — which help verify that a device starts up securely and hasn’t been tampered with — began expiring from June 2026 onwards. Devices that haven’t received the required certificate updates may experience startup validation issues and could lose Secure Boot protection entirely. This affects devices regardless of ESU enrolment and is a separate action item businesses need to be aware of.
What we recommend
If your devices are eligible for Windows 11, migrate now rather than paying for ESU. Windows 11 is a free upgrade for properly licensed Windows 10 devices that meet the hardware requirements, and a new device purchased today will continue receiving updates for years to come. Paying escalating annual ESU fees to delay an upgrade you’ll eventually need to make rarely makes financial sense once the true cost is worked out.
If some devices aren’t eligible for Windows 11, plan for replacement rather than relying on ESU long-term. ESU buys time, it doesn’t solve the underlying problem of ageing, incompatible hardware.
If you’re not certain which of your devices are still on Windows 10, or whether they’re eligible for Windows 11, this is exactly what a free site survey identifies. We assess your full device estate, flag anything still running an unsupported operating system, and give you a clear, costed plan for migration.
Running unpatched, unsupported devices is also a direct risk to your Cyber Essentials certification. Patch management is one of the five core technical controls assessed, and an unsupported operating system that can no longer receive security patches at all is very difficult to bring into compliance. See our Comprehensive IT Security Assessment page.
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We manage Windows updates and device lifecycle planning as a standard part of your managed support contract, so you’re never caught out by an end-of-support deadline again.
