Serious new warning issued for tens of millions of Microsoft Windows users
It has been a month of non-stop headlines for Microsoft Windows users, with the long-awaited release of 24H2, the re-release of Recall and U.S. government update deadlines as various vulnerabilities come under attack. But in amongst the noise, there have also been the usual upgrade warnings as 900 million Windows users face the nightmarish prospect of an end to security updates, putting them at risk.
At least those 900 million Windows 10 users have another year before support ends—absent a surprise Microsoft support extension, an affordable support package or a workable workaround. But for 50-million Windows users that end of support nightmare has come true, and Microsoft is warning them of the consequences.
We’re talking Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, which between them still drive tens of millions of PCs around the world. As spotted by Neowin, Microsoft has just “quietly updated its guidance… to help such users transition from older versions of Windows to Windows 11.”
“Devices running an unsupported version of Windows will still function,” the revised document says, “but Microsoft doesn’t provide technical support of any issue, software updates, [or, more critically] security updates or fixes.”
While those 50 million users on aged versions of Windows are an issue, the 900 million Windows 10 users are a much bigger issue. And just as with Microsoft’s recent internal case study that heralded the benefits of Windows 11’s marriage of secure hardware and software, this new push has all of them in mind. “Windows 11 is the most current version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend you move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC. Hardware and software have improved a lot, and today’s computers are faster, more powerful, and more secure.”
Windows OS install bases, September 2024
“Microsoft officially recommends a new PC and OneDrive to update to Windows 11,” Neowin says. Any PC running these older versions of Windows will not support Windows 11, and the same is true with million of PCs running Windows 10. This is the primary issue with the slow transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11, the hardware hurdle and user resistance to buying new machinery, especially with no secondary market into which they can sell their replaced PCs.
Putting the simplest advice first, if you’re one of the 50 million then you should realize the risks you’re running, given the almost continual security alerts emanating from Microsoft as it issues its monthly fixes. You should at least update to Windows 10, even if Windows 11 is a stretch too far just now.
For those on Windows 10, the reality is that we don’t yet know how the next 12-months will play out. It seems inconceivable that we will see hundreds of millions of PCs enter a support limbo land, but Microsoft is not showing any signs of reducing the hardware requirements, at least not yet.
“An unsupported version of Windows doesn’t receive software updates from Microsoft,” the company warns. “These updates include security updates that protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, which can steal your personal information.”
The switch to Windows 11 has recently picked up pace—a little, but nowhere enough to catch up. And so, set against that backdrop perhaps it’s understandable to see so much inertia. Safety in numbers, perhaps, at least as regards the likelihood Microsoft will be bounced into doing something as October 2025 gets much closer.