Windows 10 reached the end of support on 14 October 2025. For home users who were not ready to move, Microsoft offered a year of Extended Security Updates (ESU), due to end on 13 October 2026.
It did not end. In June, Microsoft extended the consumer programme by a year, to 12 October 2027. There was no announcement. The new date simply appeared in Microsoft's documentation and in an editor's note on a Windows blog post. Plenty of guides and news pieces still give the old date, which is why this one exists.
Everything below follows Microsoft's ESU page as it read on 19 October 2026.
If You Enrolled Last Year, You Don't Need to Do Anything
Microsoft's wording is unambiguous: "If you're already enrolled, your coverage will automatically continue through that date—no action needed." There is no second payment, no renewal and no new sign-up. A PC that was enrolled through the free option, with Rewards points or with the $30 purchase is covered to the new date on the same terms.
Check That Your PC Is Actually Enrolled
This is worth two minutes, because a PC that is not enrolled stopped receiving security fixes a year ago and nothing on screen will warn you about it.
- Open Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update.
- Read the enrolment status there. Microsoft says this is where you can check it "anytime".
- If you paid the $30, the purchase also appears in your Microsoft account's order history.
While you are there, check which version of Windows 10 you are running: press Windows + R, type winver and press Enter. ESU only covers version 22H2. If the box shows an earlier version, install the outstanding updates first.
Enrolling Now
If the Windows Update page offers you a link to enrol, you are not too late. You can enrol any time until 12 October 2027. Once enrolled, the PC receives "all critical and important updates released after Windows 10 end of support", so it catches up on everything it missed.
The requirements, from Microsoft's page:
- Windows 10 version 22H2, in the Home, Professional, Pro Education or Workstations edition.
- The latest Windows updates installed, including the ESU Licensing Preparation Package, KB5126256. If the enrol link does not appear, check that this package is installed.
- A Microsoft account with administrator rights. If you sign in to Windows with a local account, you will be asked to sign in with a Microsoft account to enrol. Child accounts cannot enrol. A parent can enrol the PC from their own administrator account on that machine.
There are three ways to pay for it:
- Free: back up your PC settings to your Microsoft account.
- 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
- A one-time purchase of $30 (or the local equivalent) plus tax.
One enrolment covers up to 10 PCs signed in to the same Microsoft account. On each extra PC, go to the same Windows Update page and choose Enroll now or Add device. If several people use one PC, a single enrolment covers all of them.
Microsoft also notes that the options and timing "may vary by region", and names the European Economic Area as an example. If you are in the EEA, the version of the page you see will reflect that.
What ESU Does Not Give You
ESU is narrower than full support, and it is worth knowing where the edges are:
- Security updates only. You get updates Microsoft rates as critical or important. There are no bug fixes, no new features and no technical support.
- Home PCs only. The consumer programme is not offered on PCs joined to a work domain, managed by an employer's device-management system, or running in kiosk mode. Those devices go through a separate business programme.
- A deadline, not a guarantee. The programme now ends on 12 October 2027. Microsoft has said nothing about anything after that.
Use the Extra Year to Decide What Comes Next
The extension buys time, and the useful thing to do with it is find out whether your PC can run Windows 11.
Microsoft's PC Health Check app answers that directly. Search for it on the taskbar, or download it from Microsoft if it is not installed, then select Check now. It tells you whether the PC meets Windows 11's minimum requirements, and if it does not, which requirement it fails.
Enrolling in ESU does not stop you from upgrading later. If the check passes, you can stay covered on Windows 10 and move to Windows 11 when it suits you. If it fails, you now know you have until October 2027 to plan a replacement rather than rushing into one.
Check the Windows Update Page Today
If you have a Windows 10 PC at home, open Windows Update and read what it says about ESU. If it says the PC is enrolled, there is nothing left to do until 2027. If it offers you a link to enrol, take the free option or one of the other two. And if it offers neither, start with the version number and KB5126256.
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