Millions of Windows 10 users face costly decision - Microsoft confirms new yearly fees

11 April 2024 , 17:10

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Millions of Windows 10 users face costly decision - Microsoft confirms new yearly fees

If you still use Windows 10 you’re about to have a tough choice to make.

Despite the launch of Windows 11, millions of people still can’t end their love affair with Windows 10. Latest figures show that this ageing operating system remains the most popular on the planet with a market share of over 60%.

However, that could all be about to change with Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 next year. That’s leaving those with it installed facing a tough and expensive decision to make - either buy a new laptop that’s compatible with Windows 11 or pay the new fees that have just been announced by Microsoft. 

We already knew that the US firm was planning to offer Extended Security Updates to those wanting to continue using Windows 10 past next year’s end-of-support deadline.

What we now know is that it’s going to cost around £50 per year to keep your device updated and free from security issues. 

While we strongly recommend moving to Windows 11, we understand there are circumstances that could prevent you from replacing Windows 10 devices before the EOS date. Therefore, Microsoft will offer Extended Security Updates," confirmed last December.

"Mark your calendars!" Microsoft’s Jason Leznek exclaimed. "By now, you’ve probably heard that Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. You can enroll those PCs in the paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program. ESUs allow you to receive critical and/or important security updates for Windows 10 PCs when you need extra time to move to Windows 11."

That’s good news for those not happy moving over to Windows 11 - sadly it won’t be cheap.

The price for this service is $61 per year (£48). So far Microsoft has only confirmed that cost for business enterprise users and we’re still waiting to find out what home users will need to pay. 

We’re expecting something similar (around £50) for those with Windows 10 on their personal laptops and although that’s a high price to pay it’s nowhere near as expensive as splashing out on a brand-new PC.

As some will be well aware, many older devices are unable to move over to Windows 11 due to compatibility issues. At least Microsoft’s ESU option will mean users will be able to keep their current computers.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t a permanent solution. Micorsoft says it will only offer paid support for three years after the end-of-life deadline.

HERE ARE THE FULL SPECS FOR RUNNING WINDOWS 11

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system on a chip (SoC).

RAM: 4 gigabytes (GB) or greater. 

Storage: 64 GB or greater available storage is required to install Windows 11.

Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver.

TPM: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.

Thomas Brown