Windows 10 EOL 14 October 2025

And what happened to each build only being supported for 18 months and you get to update through the builds forever. Is that stopping with Windows 11? Are we reverting back to the traditional support cycle and no new builds. I seriously doubt that so what is with this?
 
That has been the published EOL date for Windows 10 for as long as I can remember. It's been in the
Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet
and
Microsoft Software Lifecycle Search Page
for ages now. I've always presumed that this will be around the time that they drop "10" from the name and just go to Windows. I doubt that Windows As A Service is going anywhere, anytime soon.

And I'll believe "Windows 11" if and when I see it. I have never seen so much hyperventilating over something I fully anticipate is not going to happen as is revolving around this June 24th formal "party" for Sun Valley. It's been considered a part of Windows 10 for a very long time now. I am very doubtful that we're actually going to see Windows 11, ever.
 
As an aside, those folks at thurott.com certainly seem to think that their site is some sort of secure location. I have no intention of ever again going through a double-depth Captcha just to look at an article. No thanks!

Add to that the fact that even after jumping through hoops, it doesn't appear that they like the Brave browser enough to let me take a look.
 
I'll take that bet. Too many internals are pointing to the name change. And that's all it is a fancier build change just like they can't decide on how to name the code builds.
 
britechguy said:
As an aside, those folks at thurott.com certainly seem to think that their site is some sort of secure location. I have no intention of ever again going through a double-depth Captcha just to look at an article. No thanks!
Click to expand...
You too? It doesn't normally do that. Not sure what is triggering that.
 
Well, if they do rebrand as Windows 11, it's still a non-event to me. It remains the next feature update, 20H2, so no matter what number Windows might happen to have after it, it's still just the next update to roll out. Big Whoop!

Of course, I've never been able to be excited about any Windows version roll-out. You take what Microsoft (or Apple, or Android (or custom ROM maker), or Linux Distro maker) is supplying you at a given moment in time. You either go with the flow or eventually die, regardless of the OS or OSes you're using. Choice within an OS ecosystem really isn't an option; you take what the maker currently makes.
 
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By the way, the specific Windows Lifecycle pages for:

Windows 10 Home and Pro

and

Windows 10 Enterprise and Education​

in the case of both, that October 2025 date has been there from the very first time I ever viewed those pages. I considered it arbitrary then, and still do now. The end of Windows 10 with the 10 could come earlier, or later, but the Windows As A Service delivery mechanism for whatever shows no signs of changing in any substantial way in the foreseeable future. I don't think we'll ever go back to anything like what preceded Windows As A Service.
 
I suspect they're tried of giving their flagship product away so often. Sure they make good money on new OEM sales and Enterprise licenses but a lot of us haven't bought a Windows license in years as we keep upgrading forward.
 
britechguy said:
By the way, the specific Windows Lifecycle pages for:

Windows 10 Home and Pro

and

Windows 10 Enterprise and Education​

in the case of both, that October 2025 date has been there from the very first time I ever viewed those pages. I considered it arbitrary then, and still do now. The end of Windows 10 with the 10 could come earlier, or later, but the Windows As A Service delivery mechanism for whatever shows no signs of changing in any substantial way in the foreseeable future. I don't think we'll ever go back to anything like what preceded Windows As A Service.
Click to expand...
The problem is that Microsoft, like it often does, contradicts itself. If the next version of Windows is 11 then support for the last 10 build 21H1 will end before the master cutoff date.
 
My only point is that the 2025 date is nothing new. I was never even able to get through to the article earlier, but just did now, and the author is just plain dead wrong. That October 2025 date has been shown since Windows 10 hit the street in 2015. They did not leave it "open ended" from the outset. This guy was just not paying attention. And apparently I'm not the only one who has been paying attention, as a commenter, digiguy, on that article says precisely the same thing. This is absolutely not a "recently edited" entry. It's years old.

And I'll believe Windows 11 when I see it. It would make zero sense to me to take something that's been a part of the Windows 10 development pipeline, has been in the hands of Windows Insiders for a while now, and that's being tested as part of the normal Windows 10 update cycle and suddenly have a major number change. And if they do this, it looks stupid. Sun Valley has always been identified as a major feature update in terms of a thorough refresh of the UI, for the most part. But that does not a new Windows make.
 
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember specifically looking up Windows 10's EOL date when Microsoft said that Windows 10 would be the "last" version of Windows and their website gave some date in 2025. I figured at that point that they were just spewing marketing BS to try and throw legitimacy behind Windows 10 after the spectacular flop that was Windows 8.
 
@sapphirescales I also remember seeing that date before, the "drop dead" date of Windows 10 has been there since release. But between here and there they've made it clear the feature updates move you along.

And... well... if they do force us all to buy Windows 11, I have a bunch of customers that'll just be bumping into M365 Business Premium, because that sub contains a desktop license! I change nothing else. But I don't think Microsoft is going to play that game, they'd lose too much.

Windows is the loss leader product that enables the rest of their ecosystem. The sooner they decide to just give it away, the better for all of us.
 
Sky-Knight said:
Windows is the loss leader product that enables the rest of their ecosystem. The sooner they decide to just give it away, the better for all of us.
Click to expand...

Well, they kinda sorta do already. I just wish the kinda sorta would go away, along with the Home/Pro split. I can get why there are separate editions (Educational and Enterprise) to allow very large organizations to have much tighter control over what's available to their people and when updates are applied, but as far as individuals go, there should be one edition, the one currently called Pro.
 
I'm firmly believe it is going to be Windows 11. I also firmly believe that it's just a marketing ploy. It will be Windows 11 with a build number of 21H2 and you will upgrade to it automatically. Just like you do now. Nothing in our universe will change. It's *cough* Windows dressing.
 
nlinecomputers said:
I'm firmly believe it is going to be Windows 11. I also firmly believe that it's just a marketing ploy. It will be Windows 11 with a build number of 21H2 and you will upgrade to it automatically. Just like you do now. Nothing in our universe will change. It's *cough* Windows dressing.
Click to expand...

I kind of hope it is a new version, because it'll drive new machine sales. Or rather, in my case... refurb machine sales.

But I don't think that will happen, Microsoft doesn't have the dominance in the market place anymore to drive that sort of thing. It'd shrink their installation base too much.
 
Sky-Knight said:
It'd shrink their installation base too much.
Click to expand...

Uh, how? As has been noted, even were they to rebrand it as Windows 11, it's abundantly clear that every Windows 10 computer that is a part of the normal Windows Update protocol, as it exists, will be automatically updated.

If they go to Windows 11, then everyone will be on Windows 11 in fairly short order if they're currently on Windows 10.

That's really how I interpreted the whole, "Windows 10 is the final version of Windows," declaration anyway. I never thought they'd keep the "10" designation in perpetuity. But I still think they're way more likely to just drop the "10," and transition to being just Windows than they are to keep bumping up numbers and tacking them on. Or at least until and unless WAAS goes the way of the dinosaur or there is a major, and I do mean major, change in the entire Windows ecosystem. I don't see that as probable at all in the near term. WAAS was a very intentional move away from that delivery paradigm.
 
Sky-Knight said:
I kind of hope it is a new version, because it'll drive new machine sales
Click to expand...
I think that's Microsoft's goal. It's a bone to toss at the OEMs to drive sales because this build will look different enough to merit a new version number. The average consumer will think it's new. Power users and techs will know better. Not that it's really going to help. PC sales are like microwave sales. You only buy a new one when the old one dies.
 
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