The PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) sends a request to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, to reassess the end of support date for Windows 10. It is currently scheduled for October 2025. This request takes the form of a petition.
Windows 10 was released in 2015 with a ten-year support period. There are currently two years of maintenance remaining. Although Windows 10 no longer receives major feature updates, it still receives security updates, bug fixes, and occasional optimizations.
In 2021, Microsoft introduced Windows 11 as the successor to Windows 10 and is offered free to Windows 10 PC users. Microsoft also recommends users update to Windows 11 as soon as possible, but this may not be possible in all cases. Windows 11’s configuration requirements are very different from those of Windows 10 and represent the most significant major changes since the release of Windows 7 in 2009.
Windows 11 requires minimum system requirements
Windows 11 limits compatibility to processors released in 2018 or later, in addition to other restrictions such as TPM support. Therefore, Windows 10 PCs that do not meet these requirements are not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11.
This situation is critical because it potentially affects tens, if not hundreds, of millions of computers worldwide. According to PIRG, 40% of PCs running Windows 10 or earlier are affected, which could result in an unprecedented number of computers becoming obsolete.
Technically, it is possible to update incompatible Windows 10 devices to Windows 11, but the method is not recommended and is not available to all users. Microsoft has stated that these computers are not officially supported, so there is no guarantee that you will receive future security updates. The main problem with these devices at the moment is the lack of certain functions.
To date, Microsoft has not yet officially commented on the end of support for Windows 10. It’s possible that Microsoft is following a similar scenario to Windows 7, where it only offered a three-year support extension to businesses and not to the general public. It’s possible that Microsoft could extend Windows 10 support for another three years or longer with a similar program.
PC users running Windows 10 Home Edition have a limited number of options:
- You can migrate to Windows 11 for free as long as your hardware meets the configuration requirements.
- You can continue to use Windows 10 with full knowledge of the risks and knowing that Microsoft will no longer provide security patches or bug fix updates.
- They may consider introducing a new operating system like Linux.
In the meantime, Microsoft is focusing on Windows 11 while devoting resources to developing a potential new operating system, possibly called Windows 12. The release would be planned for 2024.