Still on Windows 10? Here’s where you stand.
Checked against Microsoft’s pages on October 22, 2026
Your PC keeps working. Nothing switches off. But Windows 10 stopped getting regular updates on October 14, 2025, and what happens next depends on two things: whether your PC is signed up for the free extended updates, and whether it can move to Windows 11.
The dates
- October 14, 2025Windows 10’s normal support ended. No more new features or regular fixes.
- October 12, 2027Free extended security updates run until this date, but only on PCs that are signed up. Microsoft added this extra year in June 2026.
- October 2028Windows Security keeps getting its virus definitions until then, and Microsoft Office apps keep getting security fixes.
- For nowChrome, Edge and Firefox still update on Windows 10, so the web stays as safe as it was.
Source: Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates page.
Is your PC signed up?
Open Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Update. If you see Enroll now (or “Enrol”), the PC isn’t signed up yet: click it and follow the steps. Signing up is free when you let Windows Backup sync your settings with a Microsoft account (the other ways are 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or $30 once). It needs Windows 10 version 22H2, which almost every Windows 10 PC has by now; you can see the version under Settings, System, About.
If you don’t see Enroll now and updates have been arriving this month, you’re signed up. OkayPC’s free checkup says it in one line: “Signed up for extended security updates” or “Not signed up for extended security updates yet”.
Can it move to Windows 11?
Windows checks this itself. The same Windows Update page often says “This PC can run Windows 11” or “This PC doesn’t currently meet the minimum system requirements”. As a rough rule, a PC made from 2018 onwards can; the usual blockers are an older processor or a security chip (TPM 2.0) that the PC doesn’t have, or has switched off. OkayPC shows Windows’ own answer in plain words, with the reason.
If it can: the upgrade is free. On the Windows Update page, choose Download and install under “Upgrade to Windows 11”. It takes an hour or so, restarts a few times, and keeps your files, apps and settings. Back up your photos and documents first anyway, as you would before any big change. Afterwards, SimplifyPC can tidy the new Windows 11 for you, free.
If it can’t: that’s fine for now. Keep it signed up for the extended updates until October 2027, keep Windows Security on, and keep your browser updated. We don’t recommend the tricks that force Windows 11 onto an unsupported PC: Microsoft says such PCs aren’t entitled to updates, which defeats the point. Plan on a new PC before October 2027; a basic laptop costs a few hundred dollars, and your photos and documents can move across.
Watch out for the Windows 10 scams
“Your Windows has expired, call now.” “Your PC is no longer protected, pay to renew.” These appear on web pages and in emails, and they are all fake: Microsoft never puts a phone number in a warning and never charges to keep Windows going. If one fills your screen, read Is this real? for how to close it safely.
Both answers in one free checkup
OkayPC looks over your Windows 10 PC and tells you in plain words whether it still gets security updates, whether it can move to Windows 11 (in Windows’ own words), and what to do next, alongside its other checks: Windows Security, updates, remote access apps, a drive wearing out. No scary numbers, no account. Free.
Both come from Microsoft. Works on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. More about OkayPC