Windows 10: How to get security updates for free until 2026
Users who want to stick with Windows 10 beyond its planned end-of-support date but still receive security updates, can enroll into the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, Microsoft has confirmed on Tuesday.
Microsoft’s (self-evident) long-term goal is to push all users to upgrade to Windows 11, but the company understands that not everybody can do it immediately or even in the next couple of years.
ESU for home users
“Windows 10 launched in July 2015, and after nearly a decade, support will end on Oct. 14, 2025,” Yusuf Mehdi, Executive VP, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, noted.
That means that after that date has passed, Microsoft will stop providing security and feature updates and technical support for Windows 10 PCs.
But the company will not leave Windows 10 users completely stranded: they can enroll into the ESU program – which delivers monthly critical and important security updates, but no new features, non-security updates, design change requests or technical support – for a price.
They can either pay $30 USD; use 1,000 of their accrued Microsoft Rewards points; or use Windows Backup to sync their settings to the cloud.
The latter two options require users to have or to set up a Microsoft Account – a point of contention for users who are trying to stick with just a local account for practical, privacy, and control reasons, as well as for ideological reasons (i.e., they don’t want to be “locked-in” to a proprietary ecosystem).
Windows 10 home users will be able to enroll into ESU via an enrollment wizard that will show up in their OS Settings in July. Windows insiders can use it already.
“Once you select an option and follow the on-screen steps, your PC will automatically be enrolled. ESU coverage for personal devices runs from Oct. 15, 2025, through Oct. 13, 2026,” Mehdi added.
ESU for business customers
Organizations looking to extend the use of physical Windows 10 machines and continue to comply with security requirements mandated by existing regulation will have to pay $61 USD for the first year of each Windows 10 ESU license
“The price doubles every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years [after end of support for Windows 10],” Microsoft explains. “ESU is available at no additional cost for Windows 10 virtual machines.”
Mehdi added that the company will:
- Continue providing security updates for Microsoft 365 Apps running on personal and commercial Windows 10 PCs until October 10, 2028, but will deliver feature updates only until the end of August 2026
- Continue providing Security Intelligence Updates for Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows 10 through October 2028
- Provide ESU for free and automatically for Windows 10 devices accessing Windows 11 Cloud PCs through Windows 365 or Virtual Machines.
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