Windows 10 will reach end of service on October 14th, 2025. Microsoft is selling Extended Security Updates (ESU) to provide support for those products after the end of the normal support lifecycle.

What happens on end of service date

• Your PC will stay activated and work as normal but Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, technical support, or free software updates.

What do Extended Security Updates do?

• They provide monthly security updates rated Critical or Important (see: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc/security-update-severity-rating-system )

Details about the Windows 10 ESU program

• It will function very similarly to the Windows 7 ESU program that ended in 2023
• It will run for three years. You will need to purchase it year by year. Starting in a later year requires purchase of all previous years
• This program is meant to be a temporary bridge for machines that can't convert to Windows 11 right away. This program is not intended to be a long-term solution.
• Apps like M365 are not guaranteed to remain compatible with Windows 10 after end of support.
• These will be available through the Software Order Form. Once available, an order will give you a key to enter on the device. You can purchase these at any time. The price is not prorated.
• It will cover the last released version of Windows 10, which is 22H2.

Pricing

• Year 1 of the program will cost $1.01 per device. The price is expected to double per year but final pricing for year 2 and 3 is not confirmed.
• We will attempt to make this available as soon as we can. This will likely be in mid-July but we are checking if we will be able to offer it sooner. There will be no benefit until the first ESU patch is released (likely in November 2025).

Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 reached the end of their support lifecycle on Oct 10th, 2023. Microsoft is selling Extended Security Updates (ESU) to provide support for those products after the end of the normal support lifecycle.

Extended Security Updates...

• will provide Security Updates and Bulletins rated “critical” and “important” for a maximum of three years after Oct 10th, 2023, and will be sold in one-year increments.
• will be distributed if and when available.
• do not include technical support, but you may use other Microsoft support plans to get assistance on your Server 2012 and 2012 R2 questions on workloads covered by Extended Security Updates.
• do not include new features, customer-requested non-security hotfixes, or design change requests. However, Microsoft may include non-security fixes as deemed necessary.

Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2012/2012R2 Standard and Datacenter are available for purchase from the Software Order Form. The ESU SKUs closely follow the Windows Server licensing model.

• You can purchase Extended Security Updates at any time. The prices are not prorated.
• Provisioning of Extended Security Updates will be through special multiple activation keys (MAKs) that you will receive in an email within an hour of your order.
  • Standard and Datacenter use the same ESU MAKs.
• Software Assurance must be maintained on the Windows Server licenses being covered by Extended Security Updates. If software assurance lapses during the term of the Extended Security Updates, your right to use Extended Security Updates ends.
• If your Windows Server 2012/2012R2 license doesn't have software assurance associated with it and you want to cover it with Extended Security Updates, there are two options, both of which would be in addition to the Extended Security Updates above.
  • You can purchase a new perpetual Windows Server license with software assurance from the Software Order Form.
  • You can purchase a lease for Windows Server with software assurance.
    • The term of the lease would begin on the first day of the month following your purchase date and end on October 31st, at which time you can either let it lapse or renew it for another year.
    • Windows Server leases do not include perpetual license rights.
    • The purchase price of leases that begin on dates other than November 1st would be prorated to correspond with an end date of October 31st. Because of that, each order for a Windows Server lease will need to be quoted before purchase.
    • These items license two physical cores on one machine; the minimum order is 8, which would license one machine with up to 16 cores. If your server has more than 16 cores, you would need to purchase additional quantities. This is the normal licensing rules for Windows Server.
• If you'd like to get an estimate of the costs of licensing your systems for Extended Security Updates, please email licensing@doit.wisc.edu.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008/2008R2 have completed their extended security update cycle as of Jan 2023.

• Please refer to this blog post for prerequisites, installation, and activation: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Windows-IT-Pro-Blog/How-to-get-Extended-Security-Updates-for-eligible-Windows/ba-p/917807
• More on prerequisites: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/core-infrastructure-and-security/preparing-to-deploy-extended-security-updates/ba-p/1139851
• This page was updated on 2/11/2020 to include additional Licensing Preparation Package prerequisites: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4522133/procedure-to-continue-receiving-security-updates

Windows 10: October 14th, 2025

Office 2016 and 2019: October 14th, 2025

Office 2019: October 13th, 2026

Publisher: October 13th, 2026