Sudden reverse is bad news for Windows — what to know.
So it seems the October 2025 hard red line was neither as hard nor as red as expected. Unfortunately, it seems this is a mistake affecting more than 400 million users. Ironically, after years of trying, the week Microsoft chose to drop this bombshell was also the week its Windows 11 upgrade campaign finally started hitting home, with the newer version of the OS catching Windows 10’s market share for the first time.
.that can’t. With the upgrade program working, Microsoft should have limited its free support extension to only those with ineligible PCs. That’s where the upgrade complexity and cost lies. Instead, any users favoring Windows 10 who would balk at paying the expected $30 12-month ESU price get a free extension, subject to using Microsoft’s cloud backup. It will be fascinating to see what happens to those upgrade stats over the coming weeks.In my view, Microsoft has missed a trick and this is a mistake. There was a genuine case to give ineligible PC owners more time to upgrade hardware, without giving the entire Windows 10 user base a break. The fear now is this just kicks the problem down the road, stopping or even reversing the accelerating upgrade train for eligible PCs.announcing the free extension also promised it “will continue to provide Security Intelligence Updates for Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows 10 through October 2028.” This is not the same as full security support and should not be treated as such. The extension is a one-year deal not a three-year deal, despite some reports.has published a first look at the new ESU wizard, which lists the three options: Cloud backup, reward points or $30. It then confirms that support is extended beyond October. "In our tests, it just takes a few seconds to extend support. You’ll see the 'Enroll now’ button on the right side of the Windows Update."Obviously, “you don’t need to meet Windows 11 requirements to be eligible for Extended Security updates," which would be counter-intuitive. But neither is it disabled if you do.says. “You don’t have to join the program for the ‘Enroll now’ button, as Microsoft says it will roll out the feature to everyone in the coming weeks.”
Windows Failed Update Windows Emergency Update Windows 10 2026 Windows 10 End Support Windows 11 Upgrade Windows 10 Vs Windows 11 Windows Esu
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