Unless Microsoft didn't already done very it clearly wants you Upgrade your Windows 10 PC this yearThe company announced it would stop supporting Office apps on older operating systems in October.
in one blog postMicrosoft confirms that to continue using the Microsoft 365 suite of apps on your machine, you'll “need to upgrade to Windows 11” by October 14—the same day that support will also end for Windows 10. And In many cases, upgrading to Windows 11 will also require upgrading your machine.
That's because Windows 11 has some pretty heavy features hardware requirements that millions of old machines cannot meet, and Microsoft has confirmed that it has no intention of changing those prerequisites.
It's so confident that Yusef Mehdi, Microsoft's chief marketing officer, has declared 2025 “the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh.”
“Whether an existing PC needs a refresh or has a security vulnerability that requires the latest hardware-based protection, now is the time to move forward with a new Windows 11 PC,” he wrote in a post. write differently. blog postearlier this month.
It's fair to say that some machines fall short of those minimum hardware requirements almost 10 years oldand it's upgradeable anyway. But it's also true that there are plenty of machines running Windows 10—data do Data counter in December 2024 shows nearly twice as many PCs running Windows 10 as Windows 11—meaning switching them all before support ends is unlikely.
There's some good news for any Windows 10 users who want to continue using their Office apps. Just like the operating system itself, Microsoft 365 won't fall off a cliff and stop working on October 14. Microsoft confirmed that Office applications “will continue to function as before” but there may be “performance and reliability issues over time” as feature and security updates stop rolling out.
If this is your tactic it may be worth considering Microsoft extended security updatesmade available to consumers for the first time. Users can pay $30 to keep their PCs secure with updates for a year, while businesses can protect their machines for up to three years. Of course, that won't prevent your apps from going out of date, but it will at least help avoid unpleasantries while you plan your next move.