Microsoft: Windows 10 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10

[Porthos]

Microsoft: Windows 10 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10

Microsoft says Windows 10, version 22H2 will be the last feature update to be released for the Windows 10 operating system.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[River Valley Computer]

We have had several in-store meetings pertaining to items like this recently. We are a small break/fix and MSP with two locations in rural central Arkansas. This area is devoid of many businesses thus we have very few business accounts. Probably the largest with 30 workstations. A lot of home based businesses and very small businesses with 1 - 3 computers. It is a very large vacation area. Most residents are of medium to low incomes. I am saying all this to set the stage for about what we are concerned about after October 2025.

For the last 15 years we have had great success with refurbished computers. Mostly Dell, HP and ASUS. With the stringent requirements Microsoft is imposing upon computers in order to run Windows 11, it is going to have a large financial impact on companies and residential users since Windows 10 will not be supported after that date. For a lot of you that are in larger cities and more affluent areas, your clients might be able to absorb the costs to replace systems but it will be a financial impact on most of our clients. Like the company we maintain with 30 computers - that's a lot of money just to run programs that you have been using successfully with their current systems.

I know some people have been able to work around some of the new requirements of Windows 11 to operate on older systems but we are fearful the Microsoft will soon put a patch out there to curtail that option.

This situation coupled with the greater use of phones in place of people owning laptops and desktops along with the throw-away tendency is kind of making us think that our business might be diminishing.

Sorry to bore you with this but it is something we have been worrying about for quite a while. Your thoughts please.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Gen8 refurbs can do Windows 11, and are plenty cheap now much less what they'll be then.

 

[GTP]

This situation coupled with the greater use of phones in place of people owning laptops and desktops along with the throw-away tendency is kind of making us think that our business might be diminishing.

This ^
This "trend" started for me in 2020 and seemed to accelerate to the point of having to change the direction of my business. But it didnt work out as expected.
Covid-19 and the decline of new laptop sales, (desktop sales died in 2018~2019 except for a small handful of Game PC's) caused a serious deficiency in my income to the point that I couldn't continue.

I closed my business and retired in June 2022.

I still have a core of diehard residential clients and some SoHo and SMB's who refuse to go elsewhere so I look after them and make some extra cash.

 

[frase]

Phones and tablets are limited to efficiency, as what one can perform on them.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Gen8 refurbs can do Windows 11, and are plenty cheap now much less what they'll be then.

This. In 2025 8 gen systems will be SEVEN YEARS OLD. All the refurbs on the market at that point will be fully capable of running Windows 11 this is a non issue.

 

[NviGate Systems]

We have had several in-store meetings pertaining to items like this recently. We are a small break/fix and MSP with two locations in rural central Arkansas. This area is devoid of many businesses thus we have very few business to low incomes. I am saying all this to set the stage for about what we are concerned about after October 2025.

For the last 15 years we have had great success with refurbished computers. Mostly Dell, HP and ASUS. With the stringent requirements Microsoft is imposing upon computers in order to run Windows 11, it is going to have a large financial impact on companies and residential users since Windows 10 will not be supported after that date.

Then plan ahead. Part of our job is to educate customers. So now is the time to educate them about how the retirement of Windows 10 will affect their business and how they will need to plan a migration to Windows 11 and that you can help. Remind them that they will need to budget for replacement machines. (I wouldn't offer any other scenario, see below)

When explaining to business users you can simply say Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates, meaning that Microsoft will no longer provide any updates or fixes even if it impacts their business. You can expect some vendors to support Windows 10 for a time, but eventually there will be zero support.

I know some people have been able to work around some of the new requirements of Windows 11 to operate on older systems but we are fearful the Microsoft will soon put a patch out there to curtail that option.

This is not for production use. This is more for die hard hobbyist etc. The amount of limitations that exist heavily imply that. In some cases running Windows 11 this way is just as bad as running Windows 10 once EOL as you don't get all updates, so you are stuck on a point release until you manually update.

Some users or companies may want to risk it. But I won't, not for production. So for me that option doesn't exist. It's like running neta software. No go.

 

[River Valley Computer]

Then plan ahead. Part of our job is to educate customers. So now is the time to educate them about how the retirement of Windows 10 will affect their business and how they will need to plan a migration to Windows 11 and that you can help. Remind them that they will need to budget for replacement machines. (I wouldn't offer any other scenario, see below)

Oh believe me we do for our current customers but there are a lot of businesses and res users out there that we have not had contact with but might when the shut hits the fan. Each time a customer comes in for the last six months we have stressed the situation. We have sent out Emails to many customers also letting them know so they can budget. Also it has been discussed in our newsletters but you can only contact existing customers. I'm more worried about the others. As the old saying goes....'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him buy a new computer'.

Several of us have been in this business since the Radio Shack Model I days so we are very aware how most customers will not consider it an issue until...............

When explaining to business users you can simply say Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates, meaning that Microsoft will no longer provide any updates or fixes even if it impacts their business. You can expect some vendors to support Windows 10 for a time, but eventually there will be zero support.

This is not for production use. This is more for die hard hobbyist etc. The amount of limitations that exist heavily imply that. In some cases running Windows 11 this way is just as bad as running Windows 10 once EOL as you don't get all updates, so you are stuck on a point release until you manually update.

Some users or companies may want to risk it. But I won't, not for production. So for me that option doesn't exist. It's like running neta software. No go.

NO - we will NOT do this either. Too risky. That's why I mentioned this. Many pizza techs will start doing it though.

 

[Metanis]

1. 10-22H2 has proven to be very reliable and stable. That's a good thing.

2. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft offers extended support for a price. And even if they don't then 0Patch likely will!

3. Refurbished business-class PCs are great!

4. Linux!

5. Remove the at-risk machines from the Internet!

6. We always seem to muddle through somehow!

 

[britechguy]

It should be a part of any MSP contract that only hardware that can, and does, run an in-support version of Windows will be supported by you. If that's not in your contract at the moment, then be sure to add it.

When push comes to shove, it's a stand your ground battle, and the only ground to stand on is: It runs Windows 11 or it's not something I support. (At least when it comes to businesses. Those of us in break-fix have more latitude, but even then it would be a very special cases only kinda thing.)

 

[Sky-Knight]

I've been beating on clients on this issue already, only selling systems that can support Win11 for over a year. Everything for the most part is still on Win10, but 11 is there... ready to roll.

It's not hard...

Also, I now know more about what a TPM module is and does and the short version? We need them... NOW. This shift Microsoft has forced is as usual two years too late to meet reality.

I'll lay this out simply.

If you're an MSP and you plan to stay in business you must become an MSSP or you will die.
MSSPs cannot be one man shows, so it's grow or die time, but that's a side point to this conversation... If you want to put that second S in there, you need to know what TPM is and why it's a critical component of that reality. Which means if you're an MSSP you're already shoveling out TPM enabled hardware as fast as you possibly can.

If any of the above doesn't make sense, it's time to get caught up or be destroyed in the coming recession as this shift takes hold.

For shops that focus on residential, TPM is almost more important but it's also not really your problem. Their existence will be largely transparent to you, other than Win11 requires one so can't help you if you don't have it, other than here's an upgrade.

For those that want to know why TPM is so important, read up on what a Cryptographically Secure Pseudorandom Number Generator (CSPRNG, or CSRNG) is and what it does.

This shift is tectonic in nature, and I didn't understand it until very recently myself.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

It's another OS transition....it's not like Windows 10 was short lived..it'll have been the typical 10 years come Oct. Windows 7 was...10 years.
I think people got spoiled by Windows XP running for a long 12 years under support.

For about a year now ourselves...new computers coming in for clients, I ensure they're on 11. If the comes out of the box with 10, it's getting upgrade to 11! Not going to waste my time nor my clients time deploying a new Windows 10 computer...only to have to upgrade it to 11 in 2 years before the warranty is even out! That simply does not make sense, at all!

And in 2025...if your hardware isn't new enough to be supported by 11...good lord...time to get something less than 10 years old for crying out loud.

 

[frase]

Exactly and just avoid the odd versions.Windows 7 was one of the best apart from XP.

 

[Sky-Knight]

That assumes that there is a version to avoid. Windows 11, is just Windows 10 with a fresh coat of paint, and a requirement to have a CSRNG under the hood.

Not to mention it'll have yet another 10 year lifespan, 8 of which are beyond Win10s lifespan.

So if you want to "avoid" the odd numbered version in this case, you're going to simply not be in the MS ecosystem for the better part of the next decade. Which is fine if that's what you want to do... but don't be obtuse about it. Just pull on your inner irrational grump and own it openly.

Win11 is fine, I've got it in many places with few issues. There ARE some really annoying UI bugs that MS is taking an inordinate amount of time to resolve, but otherwise it's fine. (Note Win10 has those too)