Microsoft’s new warnings come as hundreds of millions risk losing support
Turns out convincing us that taking constant screenshots of everything we do on a PC might not be Microsoft’s biggest challenge over the next year. Although it should. Spoiler alert—Memory is a terrible idea, an absolute privacy disaster in the making, and one that should be avoided at all costs.
But the bigger challenge than convincing users otherwise seems to be convincing them to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Users know what they like, and a whopping 70% of Windows users haven’t made the switch. The OS that was first seen almost a decade ago has reached the end of its run.
like XDA Developers says, “Microsoft has a major Windows 10 migration problem on its hands. Right now, most Windows users are using Windows 10… The reason Windows 10 users aren’t upgrading is that they already know what Windows 11 is capable of and they’ve made the decision not to use it. As such, showing the upgrade process or going through a comparison list will not solve the problem.”
If you’re one of those kept, you can expect to be annoyed with constant warnings every now and then. As distinguished from Latest Windows“Microsoft is now rolling out two full-screen pop-up banners reminding everyone, including those with supported and unsupported PCs, to upgrade to Windows 11.”
There are two camps that this campaign is designed to reach. The first, with PCs capable of making the switch, and the second with those that are not. Latest Windows noted that “the banner on an unsupported computer warns that the computer will not receive updates and is not eligible for upgrades,” while “if you have a supported computer, you will be prompted to upgrade to Windows 11 by scheduling the update .”
Microsoft support warning for Windows 10 users
Microsoft’s warning is clear. “It’s time to upgrade your computer before the end of support. The end of support for Windows is October 14, 2025. This means that your desktop will not receive technical support or security updates after that date.”
This is a complicated situation. While there will be the usual inertia and groups of users waiting for the switch as they prefer the older platform, there will be many, many others who don’t have the hardware to make the switch. And that’s a problem for Microsoft, those users, and all the systems and platforms they access.
And while that’s a boon for PC makers, the prospect of so many PCs rolling off the rails at the same time has other problems. like Categorys has said, “the end of support for Windows 10 could turn 240 million PCs into e-waste… Microsoft’s Windows 11 will help support a struggling PC market as customers prepare for another refresh cycle – but the end of support for Windows 10 could prevent hundreds of millions of devices from getting second lives, leaving many at risk to end up in landfills.”
The way out will be to buy Microsoft’s enhanced security updates, but it won’t be cheap. As reported by threshold, “for businesses, the first year costs $61. It then doubles to $122 for the second year and then doubles again in the third year to $244. If you enter the ESU program in the second year, you will also have to pay for the first year as the ESUs are cumulative.” Consumer prices will vary.
Whether paying the ESU fee or switching, you really need to maintain security updates for your system – as painful as either option can be.