Windows 10 out of support: what to do now with your company's PCs

For most companies, each Windows 10 PC comes down to three options, in the order worth considering them:

Below you'll find how to check your PCs, how to choose the right path for each one, and what to do now. At the end, you'll find how we can help if nobody at your company has time for this, plus the technical details for your IT team.

What has changed for Windows 10, and what comes next?

Microsoft stopped free security updates for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Companies that needed more time could pay for the Extended Security Updates program, or ESU. It delivers critical and important security fixes only, with no new features and no technical support.1

On October 13, 2026, the program moves into its second year, and the price doubles.

Windows 10 PCs keep working. What you lose, month after month, are the security updates for Windows.

You may have read that Microsoft extended Windows 10 until 2027. That extension covers personal computers only, under Microsoft's consumer program terms. Company PCs stay on the paid program.45

Which Windows do you have? Edition and version, briefly

Every copy of Windows carries two labels, and both matter for October 13.

The edition tells you who Windows is made for. Home is for personal use. Pro is for businesses, and it's what office PCs usually run. Enterprise and Education are for large organizations and schools, with special licensing. PCs at companies with Microsoft 365 Business Premium may show up as "Windows 11 Business": it's still Pro, with Microsoft 365 services added on top.16

The version tells you how recent Windows is. Microsoft releases a new version every year and names it after the year: 24H2 is the version from the second half of 2024, 25H2 the one from 2025. Each version gets security updates for a limited time: two years on Home and Pro, three years on Enterprise and Education. On Windows 10, the last version was 22H2.6

Where to find them: Settings → System → About, under "Windows specifications". The "Edition" line shows the edition, and the "Version" line shows the version.

Settings › System › About

Windows specifications

Edition

Windows 11 Pro

who it's made for

Version

24H2

how recent it is

Installed on

3/12/2025

OS build

26100.4061

What to do, based on what your PC shows

There's no Extended Security Updates program for Windows 11 versions. The only fix is moving to a newer version. From 24H2 or 25H2, that's easy: a small update with a single restart. From 23H2 or older, it's a full upgrade that takes longer, but still keeps your files and apps.67

Which Windows to move to. For a business PC, the target is Windows 11 Pro, in the newest version Windows Update offers that PC. Right now, that's 25H2. Microsoft has announced version 26H2 for this fall; it will also arrive as a small update and restart the support clock. You may see the name 26H1 on some new PCs: it's a version made only for certain new devices and can't be installed over an existing one.86

Business PCs running Home. Home is made for personal use. It can't be connected to the system a company uses to manage its PCs, so security rules can't be applied to it centrally. Microsoft 365 Business Premium doesn't turn it into Pro either: the Home-to-Pro upgrade is bought separately. The right moment for it is now, together with the move to Windows 11 or the replacement of the PC.16

How much do Extended Security Updates cost for businesses?

Extended Security Updates aren't cheap, and they get more expensive every year. There's no single price, because it depends on how you buy your licenses, but the rules are the same for everyone:13

• you pay per PC, per year;
• the price doubles every year;
• years can only be bought in order, so a PC that joins after October 13 pays for both the first and the second year up front;
• the program closes for good in October 2028.

1×

Year 1
to Oct 2026

2×

Year 2
to Oct 2027

4×

Year 3
to Oct 2028

The program closes

 

After
Oct 2028

That's why, for most companies, Extended Security Updates only make sense for a few PCs that genuinely can't be replaced yet. For dozens of PCs kept on Windows 10 until 2028, the cost adds up year after year and becomes a serious share of what replacing them would cost. The decision is made PC by PC, not for the whole company at once.

Paying isn't enough. After purchase, every PC has to be activated with a license key. A PC that's paid for but not activated receives no updates at all, so it's worth asking your IT team to confirm it, PC by PC.2

What happens to Office 2021 after October 13?

On the same day, Office 2021 reaches end of support. That's the version of Office bought once, with no subscription. The same goes for Office LTSC 2021, the same version sold to businesses under volume licensing. In Microsoft's naming, LTSC means "long-term servicing".1213

There's no extension for either, not even a paid one. Word, Excel and Outlook still open, but they stop receiving security fixes. Outlook matters most, because it opens attachments from outside the company every day.

How to check, in under a minute: open Word, go to File → Account and read the product name on the right.

• If the name includes "2021", that version reaches end of support on October 13.
• If it shows "2016" or "2019", support already ended in October 2025, and it hasn't received security fixes for almost a year.14
• If it shows "Microsoft 365", you're not affected: the subscription keeps getting updates.

The supported options are Microsoft 365, by subscription, or Office 2024, bought once.

How do you check whether a PC can move to Windows 11?

Of the Windows 11 requirements, four matter in practice:9

• A recent enough processor, on Microsoft's supported list. Processors from before 2018 usually aren't on it, but the only reliable check is the one below.
• A security chip called TPM 2.0, which stores the PC's encryption keys. Microsoft says most PCs sold in the last five years have one.10
• Secure Boot, a feature that checks at every startup that the system hasn't been tampered with.
• At least 4 GB of memory and 64 GB of storage.

The processor is often the reason a PC doesn't qualify, and it can't be swapped. The security chip and Secure Boot are often just switched off, and can be turned on in the PC's settings.

A common catch: a PC has everything it needs and still fails the check. Usually, that's because Windows 10 was installed years ago in an older startup mode, where Secure Boot can't be enabled. It can be fixed without losing data, but it's a job for your IT team, done after a backup.

On a single PC, Microsoft's free PC Health Check app gives you an answer in seconds. Some Windows 10 PCs already have it; if not, you can download it from Microsoft. Note that it isn't the same as the device health report in Windows Security.11

Across the whole company, your IT team checks every PC at once with a free Microsoft tool and records the results in a table like this one. The table becomes your work plan:

The table continues to the right. Swipe to see every column.

Windows 11, Extended Security Updates or a new PC: how do you choose?

The PC meets the requirements: move it to Windows 11

The upgrade keeps your files and apps. It goes straight to the newest version of Windows 11 Pro offered to that PC, currently 25H2. If something goes wrong, the PC can roll back to Windows 10 within the first 10 days.

Before you start, test the apps your company can't do without for a single day, on one test PC:

• your accounting or ERP software;
• the electronic signature token you use for tax filings, banks or tenders;
• printers and scanners, especially older models;
• your banking app and the remote connection to the company network, if you have one.

Then go step by step: two or three PCs first, a week of normal work on them, then the rest, department by department, in the evening or on the weekend.

It doesn't meet the requirements and it's old: replace it now

A PC you would have replaced within the next 12 months anyway isn't worth two years of Extended Security Updates. Replaced now, on your schedule, you get compared quotes, the new PC arrives already set up, and the data can be moved outside working hours without anyone losing a working day. Replaced in a rush, after a failure, all three cost more.

It doesn't meet the requirements but still works well: Extended Security Updates, only as an exception

This makes sense when the PC can't be replaced yet, whether for budget reasons or because it runs software that won't work on Windows 11. Extended Security Updates keep it protected until October 2028 at the latest. Set the replacement date from the start: each year costs more than the one before, and after 2028 there's no further extension.

PCs attached to equipment

A production machine or a medical device often runs a special edition of Windows 10, made for equipment that rarely changes. Microsoft calls these LTSB or LTSC, meaning long-term servicing editions. They follow a different support calendar and aren't covered by the regular Extended Security Updates program, so they're checked separately, device by device.152

If a PC like this can be neither updated nor replaced, move it onto a separate network, with no internet access and no email. Even if it stays vulnerable, it won't become a way into the rest of the company.

What to do now: the 7-step plan

• Take stockFor every PC, note the Windows edition and version (Settings → System → About), whether it can move to Windows 11, and which version of Office it runs.
• Choose a path for each PCWindows 11 for compatible PCs, replacement for old ones, Extended Security Updates only for exceptions. Add the date to your table.
• Start with the most exposedPCs that get no updates at all: Windows 10 not enrolled in the program, and Windows 11 23H2 or older. Before October 13, also those on Windows 11 24H2 or Office 2021.
• Move the first PCs to Windows 11Two or three PCs first, with your business apps tested on them, then the rest, department by department.
• Order what's missingNew PCs and, only for exceptions, Extended Security Updates, with confirmation that they're activated on every PC.
• Replace old OfficeOffice 2021, 2019 and 2016, wherever you found them.
• Before any change: a backupBack up your data and check that it can be restored.

If nobody at your company can get through these steps, we can take them over. See "How Risksoft can help" below.

Is a Windows 10 PC without updates safe?

No. Microsoft usually releases security updates once a month. A PC left outside the program has missed one every month since November 2025, and every vulnerability fixed in that time is still open on it. The list grows every month.

Extra protection helps: detection on the PCs and analysts watching alerts around the clock can stop an attack that exploits one of those holes. But the five layers of security complement updates; they don't replace them.

For companies that fall under NIS2, the law requires known vulnerabilities to be managed. A PC without security updates is hard to justify in an audit.

How Risksoft can help

Everything in this article can be done without us. But if nobody at your company can take all of this on, we can, from the inventory to the last PC moved to Windows 11. We run IT for 70+ companies and work with businesses from 5 users up.

You approve the decision for each PC. We take care of the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Do Windows 10 PCs still work?

Yes. They keep working, but without security updates unless they are enrolled in the paid Extended Security Updates program. On October 13, 2026, that program moves into its second year and gets more expensive.1

How much do Extended Security Updates cost for businesses?

They aren't cheap: you pay per PC, per year, and the price doubles every year, for up to three years. A PC that joins after October 13 pays for the first two years up front. Your licensing partner gives you the exact price.1

We've paid for Extended Security Updates. Is there anything else to do?

Yes. Every PC has to be activated with the license key you received. Without activation, it gets no updates.2

Does the extension to 2027 cover company PCs?

No. The extension Microsoft announced is for personal computers, under its consumer program terms. Company PCs need the paid program. If employees also work with company data on their personal computers, it's worth checking which Windows they run and what access they have.4

Can I go back to Windows 10 if something doesn't work on Windows 11?

Yes, within the first 10 days after the upgrade, from Settings → System → Recovery. After that, rolling back is no longer possible, which is why you test your apps first.

I already have Windows 11. Does October 13 affect me?

It depends on the version. Open Settings → System → About. If the edition is Home or Pro and the version is 24H2, the PC needs to move to the current version by October 13, with a small update and a single restart. If it shows 23H2 or lower, support has already ended, and the move is a full upgrade you should do as soon as possible.7

What about PCs attached to production or medical equipment?

They often run special long-term servicing editions of Windows 10 (LTSB or LTSC), which follow a different calendar. Check them device by device. If they can't be updated, move them onto a separate network, with no internet and no email.15