Katarzyna Petru
Microsoft is once again doing what it does best – pushing the limits of user patience. This time it's about support for Windows 10, which officially ends on October 14, 2025. And since this has sparked a wave of criticism, especially from people who simply cannot upgrade to Windows 11 – the company has decided to give the system one last chance. But on its own terms. And not for free.
Year of Grace… with a cloud login and microtransaction
Microsoft has announced that it will continue to release security updates for "the ten" for another year — but you have to agree to a few things:
sync your computer settings with the cloud through a Microsoft account (that is: more data in Azure),
pay $30 a year for ESU (Extended Security Updates),
or do "corvée" in Microsoft Rewards points (that is, click through their services, ads, quizzes, etc., until you collect 1000 points).
This is not real support. It is more of a symbolic nap – for those who have not yet managed to cope with the transition. Microsoft has given us a year to "clean up" our computers. The thing is, some of them work perfectly well – they just do not meet the requirements of Windows 11.
Restart Project: “It’s the largest wave of e-waste we’ve seen”
The entire situation has not gone unnoticed. The Restart Project – an independent organization focused on educating about repairing electronics – warns: this move by Microsoft could generate millions of tons of e-waste, and not just any time – precisely on International E-Waste Day, which falls on October 14.
Together with other groups, Restart Project created the “End of 10 Toolkit”, a set of tools and guides for communities that want to extend the life of older computers by installing Linux on them, for example. Yes, that’s right – Linux is back on the agenda, but not out of a nerdy desire to hack the BIOS, rather from a very real need… to keep the equipment from ending up in the trash.
“Microsoft is forcing millions of users to abandon functioning hardware simply because it doesn’t work with the new Windows,” reads the official statement from Restart Project.
Obsolescence Programmed into Code
It is usually said that there is planned obsolescence of hardware – here we have its digital version. Microsoft programmatically cuts off support for Windows 10, even though half of the computers in the world still use it.
The problem? Even if it is possible to postpone the end by 12 months, it still changes nothing. In 2026, the “ten” will be dead, and computers that would still work great as machines for the internet, movies, Word, or learning – will become “incompatible.”
The Restart Project does not leave Microsoft unscathed:
“This accelerates the disposal of fully functional devices”,
“This pushes people into unnecessary expenses for new hardware”,
“Without legal regulations, such practices will only intensify”.
In the background – Copilot+ promotion and AI narration
It's no coincidence that Microsoft is currently ramping up the sales of Copilot+ PC – new computers with AI support and Windows 11. The company compares them to "outdated" machines running Windows 10 and throws around phrases like "2.3x faster" – conveniently forgetting to mention that they're comparing to 8-year-old laptops with HDDs and 4 GB of RAM.
At the same time, Microsoft is using the end of support as a sales lever. If you don't update – you're on your own. And if you want the latest AI features – you have to buy new hardware. Simple? Brutal.
