Microsoft will begin warning Windows 7 users of its imminent death

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Microsoft will stop officially supporting Windows 7 on January 14, 2020, and as that date approaches the company is understandably keen to convince Windows 7 users to upgrade to Windows 10.

To achieve this, Windows 7 will start displaying notifications that inform users about the impending cessation of support. The pop-ups will apparently appear occasionally to remind users about upgrading.

Nobody likes a nagging popup that keeps appearing on the desktop, so Microsoft has promised that these notifications won’t be too intrusive, and users will have the opportunity to block the messages.

As Windows Latest reports, Microsoft has said that “Beginning next month, if you are a Windows 7 customer, you can expect to see a notification appear on your Windows 7 PC. This is a courtesy reminder that you can expect to see a handful of times in 2019.”

The pop up will explain that official support for Windows 7 is ending, as well as offering advice on what users need to do to upgrade.

A friendly reminder

Although Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 in January of next year – at which point new features and major updates will be ceased, which can lead to PCs running the operating system becoming vulnerable to new threats – Windows 7 remains a very popular operating system.

Only last month we reported that Windows 7 actually gained new users, with the operating system installed on 37.19% of PCs in January 2019.

So, it’s understandable that Microsoft is looking at ways to convince this large percentage of users to upgrade. A few years back it was offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade to convince people to move. That offer has since expired, so if you are looking to upgrade to Windows 10, you will now need to pay for a license.

Will these notifications finally make people upgrade? Perhaps, but if many people wouldn’t make the jump with the offer of a free upgrade, Microsoft may struggle to convince them now. 

Also, Microsoft’s promise of the notifications appearing “a handful of times” is key. If the notification appears too frequently, it could annoy users and force them to dismiss the message completely. Too little, and people might not realize how important it will be to upgrade.

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.