Windows 10 in 2026: the three real ways out

Your Windows 10 computer still works, but it no longer gets security patches. The three ways out that actually exist, and what each one costs.

Text drafted with artificial intelligence. The topic, the angle and the final review are Ibrahin's. How AI is used here

What has happened

Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. Since then the monthly security patches no longer arrive, unless you sign up for Extended Security Updates, which extend them until 12 October 2027.

Why it matters to you

Your programs still open as usual, which is why it feels like nothing happened. But new flaws in Windows are found every month and, on a machine without patches, those holes stay open. If you use that computer for your bank or your email, that is exactly what to watch.

Watch out for a common mix-up: Microsoft Edge will keep updating until at least October 2028, and Microsoft 365 apps get security patches until 10 October 2028. An up-to-date browser on top of an unpatched Windows is still an unpatched computer.

What you can do

1. Extend the patches until October 2027

This is the way out for a machine that can't run Windows 11. In Spain there are two ways to get it:

The two routes in Spain

Extended Security Updates

Cover until 12 October 2027

One-off payment30 dollars or the local equivalent, plus tax. Useful if you prefer to keep your local account.30 USD

If you sign up through the free route and stop signing in with that account, patches are cut off within 60 days at most.

Conditions for the European Economic Area. In the United States there is a third route using Microsoft Rewards points that does not apply here.

Requirements: Windows 10 version 22H2 with the latest updates and a Microsoft administrator account. A child's account doesn't qualify, nor do work computers managed by an organisation. You turn it on in Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update.

Microsoft doesn't publish a price in euros: it says “$30 USD or the equivalent in local currency”, plus tax. And it is a bridge: security patches only, no new features or technical support, and it ends in October 2027.

2. Check whether you can move to Windows 11 for free

Install PC Health Check, Microsoft's free app, and it tells you on one screen. What usually fails isn't the memory or the disk, but the processor and the TPM 2.0 security chip:

Example · what the check returns

PC Health Check

This PC does not meet the Windows 11 requirements

Memory: 8 GB4 GB requiredPasses

Storage: 256 GB64 GB requiredPasses

The processor is not on Microsoft's listBeing fast is not enough: it has to be on their listFails

TPM 2.0A security chip. Sometimes it is there, but switched offFails

What fails is almost never the memory or the disk. It is the processor and the TPM. Which is why adding memory fixes nothing.

Example screen. The real application is called PC Health Check and Microsoft publishes it for free.

Sometimes TPM and Secure Boot are on the machine but switched off in the startup settings. If the check fails only for that, it can be fixed, but those settings sit before Windows and a mistake can stop the computer from starting: if you have never done it, ask someone with experience. Bear in mind too that Windows 11 asks for an internet connection and a Microsoft account during setup.

3. If it doesn't qualify and you want something that lasts: Linux or a new machine

Linux is free, runs well on older computers and gets updates, but it is a different system and some Windows programs don't work on it: check first if you depend on one for work. Buying another computer is the expensive option and, sometimes, the sensible one. What it needs so you don't overpay is in Your PC can't run Windows 11: what to buy without overpaying.

What you shouldn't do: force Windows 11

You can install Windows 11 bypassing the requirements, but Microsoft warns that on those machines it doesn't guarantee updates, including security ones, and that the manufacturer's warranty doesn't cover damage caused by incompatibility. You can end up just as unpatched, with new problems on top.

The recommendation

Check that your Windows 10 is on version 22H2. If not, update it: without it you can't sign up for anything.
Run PC Health Check.
If your machine doesn't qualify, sign up for Extended Security Updates: you'll have until October 2027 to decide calmly.
Before any change, make a backup and check you can actually restore a file.

Sources

Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025 — Microsoft, in Spanish
Windows 10 Extended Security Updates — Microsoft, in Spanish
Windows 11 specifications and system requirements — Microsoft, in Spanish
Windows 11 on devices that do not meet minimum requirements — Microsoft, in Spanish
Windows 10 end of support and Microsoft 365 Apps — Microsoft, in Spanish

Review

Responsible for publication: Ibrahin. Date: 2026-09-04. Last checked: 2026-10-13. Dates, conditions and requirements checked against Microsoft's official documentation.