A new journey with Windows: Microsoft's "end of support" notice for Windows 10 users

[harlan4096]

Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system has about 18 months of official support left. Customers may further extend support by up to three years, but this comes at a cost.

Now, Microsoft is pushing another message on to Windows 10 devices. A new journey with Windows is a fullscreen prompt that appeared on the screen of some Windows 10 users.

This prompt, first spotted by users on Reddit, informs Windows 10 users about the end of support of the operating system in 2025.

It says:
 

A new journey with Windows.

We want to thank you for your loyalty as a Windows 10 customer. As end of support for Windows 10 approaches, we're here to support you on your PC journey.

Your PC is not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11, but it will continue to receive Windows 10 fixes and security updates until support ends on October 14, 2025.

While it is good that Microsoft is informing customers about the end of support, it comes with the typical mix of deceptive design patterns.

First, you may notice that there is no option to decline and exit the prompt. While you can click on "remind me later", this only means that the prompt will be shown at a later stage again.

Second, this particular version seems aimed at users who run devices that are not compatible with Windows 11. These devices cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 officially.

The solution that Microsoft has is simple: buy a new PC with Windows 11 and migrate your data to that new PC to continue using a supported version of Windows 11.

In other words, this is a big reminder that Windows 10 is running out of support and that the customer cannot really do anything about it other than buying a new PC.

Again, Microsoft does not reveal the option that Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 allow customers to extend support by up to three years. Granted, this comes at a cost. Enterprise customers may pay up to $427 for extending support by three years.

Microsoft has yet to announce the price for consumers.
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