Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025, it has confirmed.
The tech giant updated its Windows lifecycle fact sheetover the weekend, where the end of support for all versions of Windows are listed, to show the end of mainstream support for Windows 10 as 13 October 2020 and end of extended support as 14 October 2025.
After this date, the company will no longer provide automatic fixes, updates and technical assistance.
This may come as a surprise to some, particularly as Microsoft announced Windows 10 will be "the last version of Windows", and will be maintained through incremental updates rather than vast monthly batches delivered on Redmond's Patch Tuesdays.
There is also an extensive footnote to accompany the lifecycle dates, which includes disclaimers such as "not all features in an update will work on all devices" and "a device may not receive updates if the device hardware is incompatible, lacking current drivers, or otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturer's support period".
It also advises users that, as updates are cumulative, for the latest update to be installed all the preceding ones must have been as well.
The timing also indicates Microsoft is reducing the interval between versions of Windows becoming obsolete from three years to two.
Whether this means that we will see a Windows 11 in the next few years, despite Microsoft's previous statements to the contrary, or a significant "Windows 10.1" update in the vein of Apple's OS roll-out programme, however, is unclear currently and may remain so for some time.
