2023-10-31 07:02:29
The PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) is sending a request to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, to reassess the end of support date for Windows 10. It is currently scheduled for October 2025. This request takes the form of a petition.
Windows 10 was released in 2015 with a ten-year support period. Currently, there are still two years of maintenance remaining. Although Windows 10 no longer receives major feature updates, it continues to get security updates, bug fixes, and the occasional tweak.
In 2021, Microsoft introduced Windows 11 as the successor to Windows 10, and it is offered free to PC users running Windows 10. Microsoft also recommends users to upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible, however, this may not be possible in all cases. The configuration requirements of Windows 11 are very different from those of Windows 10, marking the most significant major changes since the release of Windows 7 in 2009.
Windows 11, demanding minimum system requirements
Windows 11 restricts compatibility to processors released in 2018 or later, in addition to other constraints such as TPM support. As a result, Windows 10 PCs that do not meet these requirements are not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11.
This situation is critical because it potentially affects tens, if not hundreds of millions of computers worldwide. According to PIRG, 40% of PCs running Windows 10 or earlier are affected, which might render an unprecedented number of computers obsolete.
Technically, it is possible to upgrade incompatible Windows 10 devices to Windows 11, but the method is not recommended and is not available to all users. Microsoft has stated that these computers are not officially supported, meaning there is no guarantee that you will receive future security updates. For now, the main concern with these devices is the lack of certain features.
As of today, Microsoft has not yet made an official statement regarding the end of support for Windows 10. It is possible that Microsoft will follow a similar scenario to that implemented for Windows 7, where a three-year extension of support was was only offered for businesses, and not for the general public. It is possible that Microsoft might extend Windows 10 support for another three years or more using a similar program.
PC users running Windows 10 Home Edition have a limited number of options:
They can migrate to Windows 11 for free, provided their hardware meets the configuration requirements. They can continue to use Windows 10 with full knowledge of the risks, knowing that Microsoft will no longer provide security patches or bug-fixing updates. They may consider adopting a new operating system such as Linux.
In the meantime, Microsoft is focusing on Windows 11 while allocating resources to the development of a potential new operating system, perhaps called Windows 12. The release would be scheduled for 2024.
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