In a Halloween blog post, Microsoft reminded everyone that there's nothing spookier than not being prepared to migrate to Windows 11 before support ends for Windows 10 on Oct. 14, 2025 (we're paraphrasing a bit). The company touted the benefits of Windows 11, detailed the best ways to upgrade and also suggested buying new PC hardware to those who aren't eligible to move from Windows 10 to 11.
But in that same blog post, Microsoft also announced that for the first time, it's offering a one-year Extended Security Updates option for $30 to users who won't or can't upgrade by next year.
Previously, there was already an ESU update for commercial enterprises and for education; for commercial customers, it will cost $61 a year per device and double each year after that. An option for education customers is $1 per license for the first year, $2 for the second year and $4 the third year.
But the personal use ESU is new, wrote Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer chief marketing officer.
"We understand that some of you may require additional time while moving to a new Windows 11 PC or Copilot+ PC," Medhi wrote. "Enrolled PCs will continue to receive Critical and Important security updates for Windows 10; however, new features, bug fixes and technical support will no longer be available from Microsoft."
Microsoft will still be putting out security intelligence updates for Microsoft Defender Antivirus until at least October 2028, the post also says.
If you want to go the update route before then, CNET has a guide on migrating to Windows 11.