He probably did not escape your attention that Windows 10 support expires on October 14, 2025. Since there is no time left before those who stay on the operating system without taking any measurement without any security update. These fixes are a vital protection for your system, and without them, an undoubted version of Windows is open to new vulnerabilities and potentially compromised.
If you want to stick to Windows 10 – maybe you may not like Windows 11 or your PC is unable to run it – there are in fact a few options to obtain additional support for an additional year. This will lead you until October 2026, giving you more room for maneuver to decide the next step in your Windows 10 PC.
These options are accessible via the extended security update program (ESU) that Microsoft revealed at the end of last year, which is offered to consumers for the first time. (Previously, this program was reserved for businesses.)
You will have three choices – one of which is completely free, although it has a little catch – so let’s review the next before solving the problem of how you really register on the ESU program (which causes confusion for some people).
ESU 1 option: Free updates via synchronization of PC parameters
This is the route I take, and I imagine that it will be the favorite option for many Windows 10 users. In this way, you don’t need to pay anything for the additional year of support at all: Microsoft simply asks you to synchronize the settings of your PC on OneDrive (via the Windows backup application).
Note that you don’t have to save all your PC data, only the settings. I have seen a certain confusion on this online subject, with people who are not eager to “give Microsoft all their data” – you do not do that, rest assured. However, you must share the settings of your PC, and you will of course have to be registered for a Microsoft account.
ESU 2 option: Use Microsoft Rewards
If you have accumulated Microsoft Rewards Points, which are accumulated using Bing or other Microsoft services, or expenses at Microsoft Store, you can use them to pay the ESU program. This will cost you 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
ESU 3 option: Pay $ 30
If you do not have Microsoft Rewards points and absolutely refuse to synchronize anything with Microsoft, the only remaining option is to pay for the additional year of extended support. It will cost $ 30 or the equivalent in your local currency. Note that even if you pay for prolonged support, you will always need a Microsoft account.
I do not see the diagram is nowhere – How can I register?
You register for the ESU program by clicking on a link in the Windows update panel. Just look for “Windows Update” in the search area (or settings) of the taskbar, and when you are in the panel, you can see an option to “register now” for the safety updates extended to the right side of the screen.
Note that I said that you could See it, because here is the thing: Microsoft has only deployed this option at the moment. As Microsoft has recently clarified, it is a slow deployment, which means that many people cannot yet see it, including me (at the time of writing). However, rest assured that it happens; You will just have to be patient.
Microsoft has promised that the ESU registration assistant will appear on all Windows 10 PCs before the expiration of the deadline for support in mid-October. So, most likely, you will see it on your PC in September at one point (maybe after this month update). Just continue to check in Windows Update and it will eventually arise, or it should do, except a strangeness or bad humor on the part of Microsoft (which can never be completely excluded).
Whatever you do – Don’t do anything
Make sure to know what you want to do in terms of prolonged updates and continue to check to register for the ESU program. Whatever you do, don’t stay just on Windows 10 after October 2025 without updates provided, because over time, you are having a higher risk more and more. The more months ago, the more security holes that can be revealed and remain not corrected, perhaps opening the door so that your Windows 10 PC is hacked in one way or another.
If you do not get extended updates for Windows 10 sorted, or if you don’t like any of the options, and you don’t want to go to Windows 11, then plan to go to another platform. A flavor of Linux similar to windows could be your best bet.
