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Microsoft is negotiating a more lenient approach for customers who are hesitant to abandon Windows 10.
No, Microsoft isn’t extending the support deadline for Windows 10. That’s still October 14, 2025. Instead, Microsoft is saying that if you use the Microsoft 365 Apps platform — Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook — it will still issue security updates well past the Windows 10 expiration date or until October 10, 2028.
Microsoft’s updated lifecycle document covering the extension was unearthed by The Verge.
Although Microsoft has made it quite clear for years that Windows 10’s support is ending this October, it has made clear that consumers can pay for extended Windows 10 support if they don’t want to make the leap to Windows 11. Extending the Windows 365 apps support window makes it even easier.
However, there’s still a catch. You’ll need to have an active Microsoft 365 license, of course. But Microsoft also says that if you raise a support ticket with Microsoft 365 while on Windows 10, and that issue doesn’t occur on Windows 11, don’t expect Microsoft to solve your problem. Instead, it will recommend that you move first to Windows 11 and then maybe provide some troubleshooting assistance. You also can’t log bugs, either.
So yes, Microsoft will help, but only to an extent. Microsoft is still pushing you toward Windows 11.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers’ News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.