Microsoft is still determined to retire Windows 10 next October, despite the fact that there are a large number of users who have not updated to Windows 11. But there is hope for those who want to continue using Windows 10 safely: the Extended Security Update Program .
With this program you can get up to three extra years of security updates for Windows 10. But logically we are dealing with an extra plan that will have to be paid for as a subscription. Microsoft wanted to give details about how this plan will work now that the end of Windows 10 is approaching.
High tariffs as a way to force upgrades
These new details come via an official document detailing the availability and pricing of these extended upgrade plans. But the details are only for business owners, with not many details for ‘regular’ consumers like us.
The document points to a fairly high price for maintaining security updates on Windows 10. Specifically, we see that business users will have to pay $61 for the first year, and then the price will skyrocket to $122 starting in the second year.
But this price does not stop here, since in the third year of extension you will have to pay the whopping sum of 244 dollars . In this way, what Microsoft wants is to force the update to Windows 11 because it can be much cheaper than maintaining Windows 10. Precisely if we add all these figures, the bill for this maintenance reaches 427 dollars, which is the same as buying a basic computer that is compatible with Windows 11.
In the case of the educational sector, prices are much lower, with a fee of seven dollars for the three years of security updates. If we look at the “average” consumer, a fee of 30 dollars is also maintained for this extension, but only for one year. At the moment, the three years for business owners are not offered.
The focus is therefore on companies that have a large suite of computers for their employees. This is where Microsoft wants to see the Windows 11 upgrade so that the market share increase that we have already begun to see at the beginning of the year is truly noticeable. And always pulling where it hurts the most: budgets and security.
Images | Tadas Sar Ashkan Forouzani
In Genbeta | Microsoft allows installing Windows 11 on incompatible PCs with an ‘unofficial’ method, but has removed all reference to it.