WINDOWS 10 END OF LIFE

Microsoft has officially pulled the plug on Windows 10, and if you have an older PC, you have a few options available to you. What are they, and what’s next?

Much like the 3G shutdown back in 2024, the end of Microsoft’s support for Windows 10 had been talked about by readers and listeners for months.

It was easily one of the most called up things on the regular ABC Adelaide segments this journalist spoke on, and Australians with a totally fine but slightly older Windows PC were understandably concerned about what happens when Microsoft kills support for a perfectly fine computer operating system.

Launched a good ten years ago back in 2015, Windows 10 has had a long history, and many of the computers that ran the operating system won’t be able to run its replacement in Windows 11 in 2021. That even includes some of the Surface laptops Microsoft made, including one sitting in this journalist’s old computer cupboard.

Hopefully, that’s not your computer, but regardless, you need to think of your options, especially now that Microsoft has officially pulled the plug on Windows 10 as of October 14, 2025.

We’re publishing this piece the day after (October 15, 2025), and if you’re still running Windows 10 today, these are your options.

You can upgrade to Windows 11

The most obvious thing you can do is upgrade to Windows 11, which is a free process provided your Windows computer supports the upgrade.

That’s clearly a bit of a catch and a caveat, because to get the free Windows 11 upgrade, your computer needs to be somewhat recent, likely made, constructed, released, or upgraded in the past few years.

Some computers will be fine, and can definitely get the Windows 11 upgrade for free. If you’re in this boat, grab some external storage, back up your critical files, and then let Microsoft do its thing and update your computer. Voila, you’ll be on the new operating system with little to worry about.

But if you can’t upgrade your PC to Windows 11, you have a different situation. It could be that your computer is just that little bit more out of date and doesn’t support the hardware and environment needed for Microsoft’s more recent operating system.

Your computer could otherwise be totally fine, and perfectly suitable for your needs. But you still need to think about what’s next, because an operating system that’s no longer supported for updates gets risky quickly, especially when threats and faults occur regularly.

And if you can’t upgrade your PC to Windows 11, you’re probably going to have to pay a little bit of money. It’s more just a question of how much money you end up paying, simply because of the next options.