Windows 10 stopped getting updates: what you risk and your three options
Since 14 October 2025 Windows 10 no longer gets security fixes. The computer still works, but it is uncovered. How to tell in two minutes which situation you are in, and what to do.
- Level
- principiante
- Time
- 20 minutes
- What you need
- Your computer, switched on and connected to the internet
The computer starts up, the programs open, everything looks the same as before. And yet since 14 October 2025 Microsoft has stopped fixing security holes in Windows 10. The result is not that the machine stops working: it is that every new flaw discovered from that date onwards stays there, open, forever.
This affects a very large number of perfectly healthy computers. There is no rush to throw them away. But a decision has to be made, and there are three roads.
Security update: a small repair Microsoft sends out when someone discovers a flaw in the system. Without those repairs the flaw stays, and whoever knows about it can use it to get into your computer. End of support: the day Microsoft stops sending those repairs for that version of Windows.
What you actually risk (and what you don’t)
Start with what does not happen, because there is a lot of nonsense around. The computer does not lock up. Programs do not stop working overnight. Word, the printer, your photos: all still there. Microsoft Defender keeps updating its threat definitions for a while yet.
What happens is slower and sneakier. New flaws are found in Windows every month: they used to be repaired, now they are not. The longer you wait, the more doors are left open. The real risk is not tomorrow: it is six months from now, when one of those doors ends up inside a piece of malware travelling by email or by website.
The point where the risk becomes serious is when that computer is where you do online banking, official correspondence, your tax return. If your Windows 10 machine only plays videos and writes letters, you have more time than you think.
First step: can your computer run Windows 11?
This is the one thing you need to know before deciding anything else, and it takes two minutes.
- Click Start, then the Settings gear.
- Go to Update & Security, then Windows Update.
- If your computer is compatible, a message at the top says Windows 11 is ready for your device, with a button to download it. If it is not compatible, a notice usually says so.
- If nothing is clear, download the PC Health Check app from Microsoft: it runs the same test and names the exact component that is missing.
The reason many perfectly healthy computers are not compatible has a name: TPM 2.0, a small security component fitted to computers from roughly 2018 onwards. It cannot be added later. If your laptop is from 2016, this is not your fault and there is nothing to fix.
Option 1: upgrade to Windows 11 (if you can)
If the check says yes, this is the right road for almost everyone. The upgrade is free, your files and programs stay where they are, and it takes about an hour and a half, most of it hands-off.
- First, make a copy of your files on an external drive or on OneDrive. Not because the upgrade is dangerous, but because a recent copy is always the smart thing to have.
- Plug the laptop into the mains. Do not do this on battery.
- Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, then Download and install under the Windows 11 notice.
- The computer restarts several times. Do not switch it off when the percentage seems stuck: that happens, it is still working.
For ten days after the upgrade you can go back to Windows 10 without losing anything: Settings > System > Recovery, "Go back to the previous version". If you do not like it, you have a way out.
Option 2: stay on Windows 10, with extended updates
Microsoft runs a programme called ESU, extended security updates: you keep receiving security repairs while staying on Windows 10. For consumers, enrolment is free if you sign in to Windows with a Microsoft account, or costs a one-off fee (around thirty dollars) if you would rather keep a local account. Cover runs to October 2027.
This is the sensible road if your computer cannot take Windows 11 but you still need it for serious things and you do not want to spend now. It is a postponement, not a solution: the calendar says you will be back here in two years.
To enrol: Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. If your computer is eligible, an enrolment link appears and walks you through it.
Option 3: give the computer a second life
If your computer cannot take Windows 11, you use it for a handful of things and spending money does not appeal, there is a third road almost nobody mentions: change the operating system. A 2015 laptop running a lightweight Linux distribution (Linux Mint is the one designed for people coming from Windows) becomes fast again, gets security updates for years and costs nothing.
It is not for everyone, and that deserves to be said plainly. It works well if you browse, do email, watch videos and write documents. It does not work if you need one specific Windows program for work or accounting: that will not run.
If your computer can take Windows 11, upgrade and stop thinking about it. If it cannot and you do important things on it, enrol in extended updates and give yourself two years to decide calmly. If it cannot and you barely use it, try Linux Mint before buying anything. Buying a new computer is a legitimate choice, but it is the last item on the list, not the first.
Meanwhile, three things that cut the risk today
Whichever road you take, these apply from today. Use an up-to-date browser, Chrome or Firefox, because most attacks come through it and the browser keeps getting updates even on Windows 10. Do not use the account you bank with as your everyday account on the computer. And keep backups running: if the worst happens, a recent backup turns a disaster into an annoyance.
To secure the rest, start with a password you can actually remember and turning on two-step verification.