Windows 10 did not lose its security updates this month

If you've read that Windows 10's last free security updates ended in October 2026, you may be wondering whether your computer is now unsafe to use.

It isn't, or at least not yet. Microsoft pushed the date back a year, and it made very little noise about doing so.

What actually happened

Windows 10 itself reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Microsoft stopped making new features and fixes for it that day.

For home users it also offered a stopgap called Extended Security Updates, or ESU. Enrolled PCs keep getting security fixes, and nothing else, for a while longer. The original end date for home users was October 2026, which is the date most of the articles you read were working from.

In June, Microsoft changed it. In a statement to the tech news site BleepingComputer, it said the program for personal devices "is being provided for an additional year" and that "coverage will now be available through October 12, 2027." There was no big announcement. Microsoft edited its support page and left it at that.

How to check that your PC is covered

1. Open Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Update.
2. Look near the top of that page. Microsoft says it's where your ESU enrollment status is shown.
3. If you're eligible but not enrolled, you'll see an Enroll now link.

If the link isn't there, the usual reasons are:

• The PC is behind on updates. ESU needs Windows 10 version 22H2 with the latest updates installed. Run Windows Update until it says you're up to date, restart, and look again.
• You're signed in with a local account. Enrollment needs a Microsoft account, and that account has to be an administrator on the PC. Windows asks you to sign in with one during enrollment.
• It's a work or school computer. PCs managed by an employer are handled under a different program. Ask whoever runs your IT.

Enrolling can be free

Microsoft offers three ways in, and two of them cost nothing:

• Free, if you let Windows back up your PC settings to your Microsoft account.
• Free, by redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
• $30, as a one-time purchase.

The first option backs up your settings only. Your files aren't included, so it doesn't replace a real backup.

What the extra year is for

ESU covers security fixes only, and it ends in October 2027 either way, so Windows 10 still isn't a long-term plan. The extra year gives you time to decide what comes next without rushing.

First, find out whether your PC can run Windows 11. Microsoft's free PC Health Check app will tell you, and it explains why if the answer is no. You can also click Check for updates in Windows Update. If the upgrade is ready for your PC, Windows offers it there for free.

The requirements that rule most older PCs out are a TPM 2.0 security chip, Secure Boot, and a processor on Microsoft's approved list. If PC Health Check says your processor isn't supported, no setting will change that.

If your PC can upgrade, plan it for a quiet week and back everything up first. The upgrade is free.

If it can't, you have until October 2027 to replace it, and that's long enough to wait for a sale. Some older machines also work well with a different operating system. Google's free ChromeOS Flex, for example, is officially supported only on models Google has certified. That's worth checking before you recycle a PC that still runs fine.

What about Office?

If you use Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook) on Windows 10, Microsoft says the apps will keep getting security updates until October 10, 2028. New features stop sooner than that.

What I do about it

If you can't work out whether your PC is enrolled, or whether it can take Windows 11, I can check both in one visit. I'll tell you honestly whether the machine is worth upgrading or whether the money is better spent on a replacement. If it does need replacing, I can move your files and settings across for you.

Call (503) 567-5975 or email support@ironwood.help.

Sources

• Microsoft: Windows 10 Extended Security Updates for consumers, covering the October 12, 2027 end date, the three enrollment options, eligibility, and checking status in Windows Update
• BleepingComputer: Microsoft quietly extends free Windows 10 ESU support to October 2027 (June 25, 2026), with Microsoft's statement and automatic coverage for enrolled PCs
• Tom's Hardware: Microsoft extends free Windows 10 security updates for a second year
• Microsoft: Windows 11 system requirements
• Microsoft: How to use the PC Health Check app
• Microsoft: Get Windows 11, which confirms the free upgrade for eligible PCs
• Microsoft Learn: Windows 10 end of support and Microsoft 365 Apps, with security updates until October 10, 2028
• Google: ChromeOS Flex and its certified models list