Windows 10
Microsoft extended free Windows 10 security updates to 12 October 2027 in June 2026, but only through the consumer ESU program. Devices joined to Active Directory or Microsoft Entra, or enrolled in device management, cannot enrol. Managed business PCs need paid commercial ESU, Windows 11 or a Windows 365 Cloud PC.
In June 2026 Microsoft quietly gave home users another free year of Windows 10 security updates. The headlines skipped the catch: the devices a well-run business owns are excluded by design.
Last updated
What changed
The business program did not change.
Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. Microsoft offered two ways to keep receiving security updates after that: a consumer Extended Security Updates program for home PCs, and a paid commercial ESU program sold through volume licensing.
The consumer program originally ended in October 2026. In late June 2026 Microsoft extended it to 12 October 2027, automatically for devices already enrolled. Enrolment is still free for anyone syncing PC settings to a Microsoft account, or costs 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points or a one-off US$30.
Nothing about the commercial program changed. It is still bought one year at a time, at US$61 per device for Year One, and Microsoft’s published price doubles every consecutive year for a maximum of three years.
The catch
Microsoft lists the ineligible devices on its own consumer ESU page.
The awkward result: an unmanaged laptop can get free updates to 2027, while the same laptop set up properly for business use cannot. Taking a machine out of management to qualify removes the controls that protect the data on it.
Your options
Most fleets end up using more than one.
Free on hardware that meets Windows 11’s requirements. Check each machine first — older processors and PCs without TPM 2.0 do not qualify.
For machines that can’t run Windows 11. Often the practical answer for older hardware, once ESU’s rising yearly price is added up.
Through Microsoft volume licensing, activated with a key from the Microsoft 365 admin center. Years are cumulative, so a late start pays for the missed year too.
Windows 10 devices connecting to a Windows 365 Cloud PC are entitled to ESU for up to three years while the Windows 365 licence is active.
Check a machine
Run both from an elevated Command Prompt.
winver shows the Windows version. Anything other than 22H2 cannot receive ESU of either kind until it is updated.
winver
slmgr.vbs /dlv lists the licences on the machine. A PC enrolled in commercial ESU shows the ESU program by name with a licence status of Licensed. If no ESU entry appears, the machine is not receiving security updates through the commercial program.
slmgr.vbs /dlv
Microsoft’s prerequisites for commercial ESU are Windows 10 22H2 with KB5066791 or later, then the ESU Licensing Preparation Package KB5072653 installed after it. A machine missing either will not activate the key.
Windows 10 questions
No. Windows 10 keeps running after support ends; what stops is security fixes. A machine with no ESU licence has had no security updates since support ended in October 2025, the real risk — not the computer switching off. Anything holding client or financial data on an unpatched operating system is a problem an insurer will ask about.
Not on managed devices. Microsoft excludes devices joined to Active Directory or Microsoft Entra, devices enrolled in a mobile device management service such as Intune, and kiosk devices. A properly managed business fleet is exactly that, so it needs commercial ESU, Windows 11 or a Cloud PC instead.
No. Microsoft sells commercial ESU by the year and the years are cumulative: buying in Year Two means paying for Year One as well. There are no partial periods, so the cheapest ESU year was always the first one.
No. ESU delivers critical and important security updates only. Microsoft supports the licence activation, installation and any regression caused by the ESU itself; general Windows 10 technical support, new features and non-security fixes are not included.
Long Term Servicing releases (LTSB and LTSC) are not part of the ESU program at all. They follow their own published lifecycle dates, so check the specific LTSC version against Microsoft’s lifecycle pages rather than assuming either answer.
Sources. Windows 10 Consumer Extended Security Updates · Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10 · Enable Windows 10 Extended Security Updates. Microsoft publishes ESU prices in US dollars; Australian pricing depends on your licensing agreement.
Get help
Tell us how many machines and what they run. We’ll tell you which can move to Windows 11, which need replacing, and whether ESU is worth paying for in between.