Windows 10's End of Life is almost upon us. If you're running this Microsoft operating system, the date that should be marked in your diary is October 14, 2025.
You may have a fair few questions about what happens on that day when Microsoft drops support for Windows 10 - I've answered some of the most common and important queries elsewhere. Perhaps you've already been researching this topic, and if so, there's a good chance that among all the info you may have seen regarding the curtain being drawn over Windows 10, you might have stumbled across some truly worrying assertions.
The thing about an attention-grabbing, eyebrow-raising 'fact' is that it may not be a fact at all, but actually fiction - and there are certainly a number of myths floating around regarding Windows 10 support coming to an end.
In this article, I'm going to debunk five key Windows 10 End of Life myths, from the idea that the last-gen OS is going to entirely stop working next week, through to that old chestnut of the insistence that it's fine to run Windows 10 without security updates.
Myth 1: Windows 10 will completely stop working after support ends on October 14, 2025
There are people out there who believe that when Microsoft says it won't support Windows 10 after October 14, this means that the operating system will somehow completely come to a grinding halt and become non-functional. That is, of course, a very wrong notion indeed.
All the arrival of End of Life means is that Microsoft will no longer update Windows 10. I say all this means as if it's a minor detail - and it very much isn't, and we'll tackle that in the next myth. But I'm just emphasizing that it isn't true that Windows 10 will stop working in mid-October, it'll keep running just fine - only without any monthly updates.
You can still use Windows 10 post-support deadline just as you've always done, and many people will be doing so. They did with Windows 7, and they will this time around again, even more so because Microsoft is offering extended support for consumers using Windows 10 for the first time ever (and I'll come back to that in a moment, too).
Myth 2: It's safe to stay on Windows 10 with no security updates if you're careful
Even though Windows 10 will continue to work fine after October 14, as noted above, you won't get any updates at all - no feature updates (though they pretty much dried up a fair while back, anyway) and no security patches.
Now, running an operating system without security patches is generally regarded as a bad idea - but there are people out there pushing the myth that it's actually fine to do so.
Have a peruse of posts on various online forums on this subject and you're bound to come across more than a few folks who say that they've run operating systems for ages, unsupported and without patches, with no problems whatsoever. Some of the more extreme update-dodgers may even cast aspersions about monthly Windows updates to the effect that they should be actively avoided - because they can introduce bugs and there's a chance they might mess with your system.
While the 'no updates, no bug headaches' school of thought is clearly taking things too far - though it is undeniably true that monthly updates do get hit with glitches - those who simply feel that updates aren't necessary to keep you safe are right, up to a point, it could be argued.
By which I mean that if you're very cautious indeed - ultra-careful - about where you go online, and what you click on, and you also ensure you have a good-quality antivirus backing you up, then you may well remain safe without security patches.
There are two main problems with this approach to the Windows 10 post-support deadline, though.
Firstly, as time rolls on, more vulnerabilities will be found in Windows 10, and they will remain unpatched for those not getting Microsoft's updates to fix these holes. These flaws will mount up, giving hackers more and more opportunities to leverage exploits against those running an unsupported copy of Windows 10. In short, no matter how careful you are, you are still exposing yourself to additional risks, and that really isn't a good idea - especially when you can get an extra year of free updates for Windows 10 from Microsoft.
Secondly, when it comes to being very careful online, most people aren't - even if they might think they are. The reality for many is that they're probably opening themselves up to being compromised on far too many occasions in the average week spent online, and without security patches, again, as time rolls on, you're just inviting trouble.
In the real world, it isn't a sensible approach to just forget about updates and keep using Windows 10 regardless, especially when you can get those updates for free (at least for a year). No matter what some people might try to tell you on Reddit, Facebook, X, Bluesky or wherever else.
Myth 3: If you don't want to pay for Microsoft's offer of extended support, to get it for free you must sync the data on your PC with the company
Regarding the offer of free support for a year in Windows 10 that's just been mentioned - as opposed to the paid option, which costs $30 - there's a common myth I've seen floating around in a fair few places.: if you want to get Windows 10 security updates for free until October 2026, you need to sync the data on your PC to Microsoft's servers - and some people obviously balk at that idea.
The thing is, if you don't want to pay, it's true that you are required to sync some data - at least outside of Europe (I'll come back to that bit momentarily) - but not much. You do not have to sync all the data on your PC, or any of the personal files (photos, videos, etc) on your drive(s). For free enrolment to the Extended Security Updates (ESU) scheme, Microsoft only requires that you sync your PC settings to OneDrive (via the Windows Backup app). That's a fairly minimal ask in terms of the content of your Windows 10 computer.
On top of that, for those in the European Economic Area (EEA), due to the Digital Markets Act, Microsoft has changed its ESU offer so those who live in this region don't have to sync anything at all. For Europeans, then, there really isn't any reason to object to signing up for extended support and a further year of updates.
Myth 4: You don't need a Microsoft account to get Extended Security Updates
You may have heard that in some scenarios, you don't need to sign up for a Microsoft account to get extended updates until October 2026 for Windows 10. The truth is that you very much do need such an account.
As mentioned above, those in Europe don't have to sync any data at all with Microsoft, but they will still need a Microsoft account to sign up for Extended Security Updates (ESU). Even if you pay $30 for extended updates, this doesn't get you out of the requirement to have a Microsoft account - you'll still need to sign up using one. No matter how you access the ESU program, you will need a Microsoft account.
And for those thinking they can fudge their way around this stipulation by creating a 'fake' throwaway Microsoft account, using that to sign up for the ESU and then discarding it, going back to use a local account on their Windows 10 PC - that won't work. Microsoft has clarified that those benefiting from extended updates will all need to be signed into the Microsoft account they used to get the ESU on an ongoing basis - and there will be checks to this effect to prevent such workarounds.
How those checks will be implemented exactly, we don't know for sure yet, but it's clear enough that Microsoft intends to make it compulsory to have an account if you want extended support for Windows 10. Indeed, this should come as no real surprise given that Microsoft is currently engaged in a campaign of stamping out the use of local accounts in Windows for all consumers.
Myth 5: Even quite new PCs can't be upgraded from Windows 10 at its End of Life because Windows 11 has ridiculous system requirements
There is some truth to this, granted. As is often the case with myths - as we've seen in some of the other points raised in this article - this isn't a baseless assertion. Windows 11 does have unusually steep hardware requirements, and they do rule out some relatively modern Windows 10 PCs from upgrading. Most of the problems around hardware hurdles to upgrading are related to computers not having a modern enough processor, or failing to have a security feature called TPM 2.0.
However, if you have a PC bought in this decade, you're quite possibly fine for an upgrade to Windows 11 when Windows 10 reaches End of Life - even if your system tells you that it isn't eligible for said upgrade. This is because your PC may have TPM 2.0 support, but the feature just hasn't been turned on.
So, there have been quite a few people out there laboring under the misconception that their PC can't get Windows 11, when it can - if they just went into their motherboard BIOS and located the switch to enable TPM 2.0 (we have an explainer on how to do this).
This has helped spread the myth that even PCs that were bought recently can't be upgraded to Windows 11. And yes, okay, that might be true for some relatively new computers, but where the danger lies is that this blanket belief may be stopping some folks from checking properly to see if their PC can be upgraded - and therefore missing out on the opportunity to leave Windows 10 for desktop pastures new.
In short, if you think your PC is ruled out of Windows 11 on hardware grounds, be sure to check your TPM 2.0 status and whether you just haven't flicked that switch to turn it on.
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