How to get free Windows 10 security patches until October 2027 - and avoid the $30 fee

Windows 10 security patches until October 2027 - and avoid the $30 fee">

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This month's Windows updates will be delivered automatically on the second Tuesday of the month, aka Patch Tuesday. Unless you have a PC running Windows 10. Support for that operating system has officially ended , and any PC running Windows 10 with its default settings will no longer receive those critical monthly security updates from the Windows Update servers.

But don't start shopping for a replacement PC just yet, as Microsoft offers options that allow you to continue receiving those security updates until October 2027, two full years after the original end-of-support date. The original program was supposed to end in October 2026, but the company quietly extended that deadline by a full year . The new end date is Oct. 12, 2027.

Also: How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - for free

When Microsoft first announced the availability of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 11, the subscription came with a $30 price tag. Thankfully, someone in Redmond realized that owners of tens of millions of consumer PCs running Windows 10 aren't ready to replace their old computers, and those customers are also not about to fork over $30 for an ESU subscription. So, a few months before the end-of-support date, the company announced new "free enrollment options" for the ESU program.

Those free ESU subscriptions are now available for any PC running Windows 10, including the tens of millions of consumer PCs that are ineligible for the free Windows 11 upgrade because they don't meet the compatibility requirements.

ESU coverage for personal devices starts immediately and runs through Oct. 12, 2027. On personal devices, the ESU subscription needs to be activated using a Microsoft account. After signing up, the account owner can apply that update eligibility to as many as 10 PCs by signing in to each one using the same account.

After the ESU subscription is activated on a PC, it continues to be active even if you change the user account associated with that device. After you successfully apply the ESU subscription, you can sign out from that Microsoft account and sign in with another Microsoft account or a local account, and the PC will continue to receive security updates.

The option to sign up for an ESU subscription from a personal Windows 10 PC is now broadly available to any PC running Windows 10, version 22H2, Home, Professional, Pro Education, and Workstation editions, with the latest Windows cumulative update installed. Enterprise and Education editions are not eligible. The option is also unavailable on any PC that is joined to an Active Directory domain, Microsoft Entra ID-joined, or registered with Mobile Device Management software such as Microsoft Intune.