Youve known it for a while: Microsoft has determined that its moving Windows 10 to end of life status starting on October 14. That means while Windows 10 PCs will continue to work after that date, theyll stop getting important security updates by default. That leaves you with three choices if you want to make sure your computer remains secure:
You can choose to upgrade to Windows 11 for free if your computer is compatible.
You can buy a new PC that already has Windows 11 pre-installed (or opt for an alternative, like a Mac or a Chromebook).
Forget about Windows 11 right now and sign up for the Extended Security Updates (ESU), which lets you kick the can down the road for a year.
Since the last one is easy — and can now be done for free in many cases — thats what were focusing on here. Well walk you through the steps of keeping Windows 10 on your PC… for now, at least.
We can question Microsofts motives for killing off Windows 10, even though it works perfectly well on most older PCs. But without those periodic security updates, your PC will become increasingly susceptible to malware with each passing week. To that end, enrolling in Extended Security Updates (ESU) will give you another year of using Windows 10 securely.
At one point, Microsoft suggested the 12-month extension would require a $30 fee. While thats still an option, theres now a free path for Windows 10 users in the US. Heres how to make it happen.
You can find out if your computer is up-to-date by going into your Settings > System > About, then scroll down to see what version youre running. If not, youll want to make sure you also install all the Windows 10 updates available.
If you share a computer with multiple people in your household, make sure youre signed in to the administrator account. Typically, its the first account created on the computer. Youll know its the right one when you see Administrator under the name. (You can double-check under Settings > Your Info.)
If you see an option to upgrade to Windows 11, just do that. Its free and it keeps you in the Windows loop. Otherwise, continue following the steps below so you can keep your computer safe with security updates.
Sign up for ESU by selecting Update & Security from the Settings menu. Click the Enroll Now sign-up link, as pictured below. Again, you may see an option to download Windows 11 if your computer meets the requirements (again, definitely do that if you see it).
If youre not seeing the Enroll now link, you probably need to update and install the latest Windows 10 updates (as noted above).
Next up is choosing how you want to enroll, and you have a few options. The easiest way is to back up your PC settings. Its free, but it takes a little bit of time since youll need to back up your data. Again, youll need to be using your administrator account to get started.
That said, the free option here comes with two catches, at least for users in the US. (European users will get the free option with no strings attached.) The first is that youll be linking your Windows login to Microsofts cloud-based online service. Most users have likely already done this (if theyre using CoPilot, Office 365, GamePass, OneDrive or one of Microsofts other various online services). But if youve specifically opted for a local login to Windows, the price youre paying for this free extension is joining the cloud-connected Microsoft universe.
The other potential issue is that the free backup only applies to the first 5 GB of storage. Anything more, and you’ll need to pay up for Microsofts OneDrive services. But thankfully, you can turn off anything you dont want to back up by going to Settings > OneDrive and toggling off options like Documents, Pictures and Videos to get in under the free threshold to start.
Once youre signed in, a window will pop up that says Add this device to receive Extended Security Updates. Click Add Device to enroll it. Click Done.
A note: Thanks to YouTubes Explaining Computers channel, where we grabbed the screenshot above (since our test PC was already signed up for cloud backups, and didnt provide the splash screen to choose options). You can watch their full video if youd like a deeper dive into the process.
Youve got 12 more months to figure out an alternative upgrade path to Windows 11. If anything changes next year, well update this story with what your next steps are.
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.