Microsoft has introduced that the final day it would present safety assist for Phrase, Excel and PowerPoint on Home windows 10 shall be October 14, 2025. Companies that depend on Microsoft 365 apps and use the legacy working system ought to improve to Home windows 11.

“After that date, in case you use Microsoft 365 on a Home windows 10 system, the apps will proceed to perform as earlier than,” Microsoft mentioned within the announcement. “Nonetheless, we strongly advocate that you simply improve to Home windows 11 to keep away from efficiency and reliability points over time.”

This is applicable to the subscription model of Workplace, Microsoft 365 and non-subscription variations of Workplace 2021, Workplace 2019 and Workplace 2016. Microsoft says that when a person upgrades to Home windows 11, all Microsoft 365 options and safety updates will resume as earlier than and so they can run an Workplace replace to make sure they’ve the newest model.

SEE: What’s inside Microsoft’s massive Home windows 11 replace?

This October cutoff may even mark the finish of Home windows 10 assistwhich joins Home windows 7, Home windows 8 and Home windows 8.1 within the working system graveyard. Nonetheless, Home windows 10 remains to be the most used Microsoft OSwith 62.7% of the market share as of December 2024. Home windows 11 solely has 34.12% of the market share.

Microsoft calls 2025 ‘the yr of the Home windows 11 PC refresh’

Microsoft has dubbed 2025 “the yr of the Home windows 11 PC refresh.” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Govt VP, mentioned in a weblog put up: “We consider that one of the crucial necessary items of know-how that folks will attempt to refresh in 2025 just isn’t the fridge, the tv or their cell phone. Will probably be their Home windows 10 -computer, and they’re going to transfer ahead with Home windows 11.”

The put up ostensibly seeks to induce customers to improve by associating Home windows 11 with its Copilot+ PCs and different AI improvements. Microsoft has additionally tried to discourage customers from submitting by displaying full-screen popups that recommend customers improve their system and switch their recordsdata.

SEE: Microsoft Copilot Cheat Sheet: Worth, Variations and Advantages

Home windows 11 proved a controversial improve because of the “non-negotiable” requiring gadgets that wish to do that to have the Trusted Platform Module 2.0, which was introduced in 2021. Microsoft claims that TPM 2.0 “elevate the safety baseline” by enabling options resembling BitLocker, Home windows Hiya and virtualization-based safety, that are essential for cover towards trendy threats resembling ransomware.

Computer systems manufactured after mid-2016 usually assist TPM 2.0, though it might should be enabled in BIOS, however solely CPUs launched from 2018 onwards will assist Home windows 11. Older computer systems with out TPM 2.0 can not formally run the working system; customers should improve {hardware} or bypass necessities at their very own threat via one of many many workarounds found by the Home windows neighborhood.

Microsoft provides in depth safety updates

For these intent on persevering with to make use of Workplace apps on Home windows 10, there’s yet one more means to take action safely. Microsoft is providing prolonged safety updates to shoppers for the primary time, that means that for $30, anybody can get one further yr of “Vital and Vital Safety Updates”. Enrollment for it will open “nearer to the tip of assist in 2025”.

Companies will be capable to pay for as much as three years of ESU. It’ll value $61 for the primary yr, however the worth will doubling for every successive yr. Registration for that is now open and the primary replace shall be rolled out in November.

Those that bought Home windows 10 Lengthy Time period Service Department or Lengthy Time period Service Channel may even proceed to obtain safety updates after October 14.