It’s a decade since Microsoft released Windows 10. Time flies, as they
say – especially through the confusion of a global pandemic – and now here
we are in 2025, Windows 10’s final year: support for the operating system
came to an end, as planned, on 14 October.
End of support doesn’t mean your Windows 10-based computer will stop
working, but it does mean there’ll be no more
software updates for it — which effectively
means you should stop using it, both for your own security and for the
security of people you connect with. In fact, phasing out unsupported
software is good for the health of our whole Internet-using society!
What you can do
If you’re still using Windows 10, there are four possibilities, though
not all may apply or appeal to you:
- Upgrade to Windows 11. If your computer meets the
requirements – essentially, if it’s new enough – you can upgrade to
Windows 11 for free. See the note on Windows 11 requirements below.
- Get a new computer. Windows 11 was released in 2021,
so pretty much every Windows-based computer available to buy today has
it or is eligible for the upgrade.
- Join the
Extended Security Updates programme. This extends support
until 13 October 2026. Depending on your setup, this may be free or it may
cost your local equivalent of $30 USD.
- Switch to Linux. This is a more niche option but,
depending on your needs, you might be able to replace Windows with an
increasingly-popular alternative called Linux. Linux comes in numerous
‘distributions’, most of which are free, and a popular one for home and
office use is Ubuntu. Much of
what you can do with Windows can be done with Ubuntu, but it might take a
bit of getting used to.
Windows 11 requirements
Download and then open Microsoft’s
PC Health Check app to
confirm your computer’s eligibility for Windows 11.
In terms of techical requirements, the bar is quite high. Most notably
you’ll need:
- A recent enough processor. When it comes to the common
Intel i3, i5 and i7 processors, this means at least an eighth generation
model, which effectively means computers that were new in late 2017 or
since.
- A version 2.0 TPM. The computer must have a security
chip called a Trusted Platform Module; specifically a version 2.0 TPM.
These appeared on business-focussed devices a little earlier than
consumer models, but are now common to all Windows-based computers.
Upgrading a processor or adding a TPM is at best non-trivial and in many
cases impossible. So, if your computer does not meet these requirements, a
new machine is probably in order.