Windows 10 End of Support Was Delayed for Home PCs Only. Your Company's Deadline Is October 13

Has Windows 10 support ended, and who does the 2027 extension cover?

Official Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. Since then, security updates only reach PCs enrolled in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. In June 2026 Microsoft extended that program for personal devices to October 12, 2027, free for anyone who syncs their PC settings to a Microsoft account. The extension does not cover company PCs: Microsoft states plainly that the consumer program cannot be used in commercial scenarios. Company PCs on the commercial program reach the end of their first year with the Tuesday, October 13, 2026 updates, and year two costs $122 per device (about SAR 458), double the first year. If you never enrolled them at all, they have had no security update for a full year.

Three cases: where do your company's PCs fall?

In none of the three cases does the operating system stop working. The PC will boot, print and connect to the internet as usual, but no newly discovered flaw in it will be fixed. That is exactly what attackers look for: machines that run every day with known open doors that nobody closes.

Why the free extension is not enough for company PCs

Microsoft's official consumer ESU page carries a clear heading: "The consumer ESU program can't be used in commercial scenarios." Enrollment is not even offered on devices joined to an Active Directory domain or to Microsoft Entra, on devices managed through mobile device management, or on kiosk devices. The one exception is a personal device that is only Entra registered, meaning an employee's own PC with a work account added to it.

For those who qualify, the consumer program requires version 22H2 of the Home, Pro, Pro Education or Workstations edition, the latest updates plus the KB5126256 licensing preparation package, and a Microsoft account with administrator rights that is not a child account. There are three ways to enroll: free by syncing your settings, by redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or with a one-time $30 purchase, and one license covers up to 10 devices.

The enroll button may appear on a small office PC simply because it is not joined to any domain, but seeing the button does not make commercial use permitted. The right route for a company-owned device is the commercial program or an upgrade.

What year two costs your company

According to the program page on Microsoft Learn, commercial ESU is sold through volume licensing at $61 per device for year one, and the price doubles every consecutive year for a maximum of three years. It is bought by the full year; there is no six-month option. Most importantly, the years are cumulative: if you join in year two, you pay for year one as well. The minimum purchase is one license.

Here is an example for an office with 20 PCs, at SAR 3.75 to the dollar, before VAT and reseller margins:

That last figure is worth comparing with the price of a new PC that will run Windows 11 for years. Commercial ESU is a temporary bridge, and none of the money spent on it remains after 2028.

Cheaper alternatives to paying double

• The free upgrade to Windows 11 for every device that meets Microsoft's official Windows 11 requirements. Take the device straight to version 25H2 or later, because version 24H2 of the Home and Pro editions also reaches end of support on October 13, as we explained in our article on the end of support for Office 2021 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
• Cloud PCs: Microsoft says ESU is available at no additional cost for Windows 10 virtual machines in Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure virtual machines, and that Windows 10 devices connecting to Windows 365 Cloud PCs are entitled to ESU for up to three years with an active subscription.
• Planned replacement: an old PC that cannot run Windows 11 will cost you $366 for years two and three, and then stop in 2028 no matter what you pay. It is better to put it in this year's budget than to replace it in a rush later.
• Isolation: a device tied to legacy software that only runs on this system, such as a PC driving a machine or an old accounting package, should be cut off from the internet and from staff email until that software is moved.

If you decide to buy year two: nothing renews by itself

Year two is not an extension that happens on its own. Microsoft's activation guide requires version 22H2 with update KB5066791 or later, followed by the KB5072653 licensing preparation package. Years one, two and three each have their own activation ID. After purchase you get the Multiple Activation Key from the Microsoft 365 admin center, install it on each device with slmgr.vbs /ipk, then activate it with the year-two ID using slmgr.vbs /ato. To confirm, run slmgr.vbs /dlv: it should show the year-two program name with the license status Licensed. Remember that ESU covers only critical and important security updates, with no new features and no technical support for the operating system itself.

What about Saudi cybersecurity controls?

The Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC 2-2024) issued by the National Cybersecurity Authority apply to government entities and their affiliated companies, and to private sector entities that own, operate or host Critical National Infrastructure. They include control 2-3-3-3, "Patch management for systems, applications, and devices", and control 2-10-3-4 on patch management to remediate vulnerabilities. A Windows 10 PC without ESU receives no patches at all, so it cannot meet that control. Even if your organization is outside that scope, the NCA strongly encourages all other entities in the Kingdom to use these controls, and many government and large clients ask their suppliers about them.

A six-step plan before October 13

1. Inventory your devices: run winver on each PC and record the version, and whether the device is domain-joined or centrally managed.
2. Check the update history: if the latest security update is from October 2025, the device has been exposed for a year.
3. Sort out the devices that can run Windows 11 and upgrade them first; they are the cheapest fix.
4. Decide for each remaining device: year two, a cloud PC, replacement or isolation.
5. If you buy, order the license from a Microsoft partner now, deploy the year-two key and verify activation on every device.
6. Set a written exit date for every device on ESU, because year three is the last.

How Origami helps

Many companies stay on Windows 10 because of a single legacy program: an accounting, inventory or machine-control system that will not run anywhere else. That is the work we do at Origami. We inventory your devices and identify what blocks the upgrade, then move legacy systems to web applications that run from any device and browser, so your hardware decisions are no longer held hostage by one program. Also read cybersecurity essentials for small and medium businesses.

Sources

• Microsoft: Windows 10 consumer Extended Security Updates (extended to October 12, 2027; no commercial use)
• Microsoft Learn: ESU program for Windows 10 ($61 for year one, price doubles, years are cumulative)
• Microsoft Learn: Enable Windows 10 ESU and the three yearly activation IDs
• Microsoft Lifecycle: Windows 10 Home and Pro (end of support October 14, 2025)
• National Cybersecurity Authority: Essential Cybersecurity Controls ECC 2-2024
• O365HQ: the three commercial ESU year dates (October 13, 2026, October 12, 2027 and October 10, 2028)
• BleepingComputer: Microsoft quietly extends Windows 10 consumer ESU to October 2027