Microsoft ended regular support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Home PCs got a reprieve through the Extended Security Updates program, and in June 2026 Microsoft quietly pushed that program out to October 12, 2027. If your computer still runs Windows 10, you have about a year to decide its future.
Use that year. Once the updates stop, every new security hole in Windows 10 stays open for good, and you find out the hard way when you click the wrong email attachment.
1. Make sure you're getting security updates today
Enrolling in Extended Security Updates (ESU) keeps the critical security fixes coming. You won't get new features or tech support from Microsoft. If you enrolled last year, your coverage rolled forward to 2027 on its own.
To qualify, your PC needs Windows 10 version 22H2 with the latest updates installed, and you need to sign in with a Microsoft account that has administrator rights. Windows will ask you to switch if you use a local account. Child accounts can't enroll.
You can cover ESU in one of three ways:
- Free: turn on Windows Backup so your settings sync to your Microsoft account.
- Rewards points: redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
- $30: buy a one-year license, plus tax.
One enrollment covers up to 10 PCs on the same Microsoft account. To sign up, open Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Update and click Enroll now.
2. Find out if your PC can run Windows 11
Download Microsoft's free PC Health Check app and click Check now. In a few seconds it tells you whether your computer qualifies, and if it doesn't, it names the part that failed.
Most failures come down to the processor or two security settings:
- The processor. Windows 11 supports Intel 8th generation chips and newer and AMD Ryzen 2000 series and newer, with a few exceptions. Most PCs sold before 2018 fall short.
- TPM 2.0. A security chip built into nearly every PC from the last eight years. Plenty of desktops ship with it turned off.
- Secure Boot. A BIOS setting that stops tampered startup files from loading. It's often off on custom-built desktops.
If your processor passes and only TPM or Secure Boot fails, you're in good shape. Both are settings, and you can turn them on in about five minutes in the BIOS.
3. Upgrade if your PC qualifies
Microsoft offers Windows 11 free to eligible Windows 10 PCs. Open Windows Update, and when the Windows 11 offer appears, click Download and install. Your files and apps stay where they are.
Back up anyway. Most upgrades go fine, and it only takes one bad one to lose ten years of photos. If your PC still has a spinning hard drive, swap in an SSD at the same time. Windows 11 drags on an old hard drive, and you pay for the labor once instead of twice.
4. Plan a replacement if it doesn't
No setting will fix a processor that fails the check. You'll find guides online for forcing Windows 11 onto unsupported hardware, but Microsoft doesn't promise updates for those installs, so I don't set them up on a family's main computer.
Enroll in ESU instead, keep using the PC through 2027, and replace it on your timeline instead of in a panic. Keep repair spending low in the meantime. A $150 fix on a computer with a year left rarely pays off.
An old laptop can still earn its keep. Google's free ChromeOS Flex turns many older laptops into a simple, secure machine for homework and streaming.
A quick way to decide
- Passes PC Health Check: upgrade to Windows 11 now, while you have time to sort out any problems.
- Fails only on TPM or Secure Boot: turn them on, run the check again, then upgrade.
- Fails on the processor: enroll in ESU and start shopping for a replacement before October 2027.
Before any of these, back up your files. The 3-2-1 backup rule takes one evening to set up.