Microsoft's Windows 10 Extended Security Updates Will Start at $61 per PC for Businesses

Microsoft will charge commercial customers $61 per device in the first year to continue receiving Windows 10 security updates after support ends, The Register wrote in a PSA note Wednesday, citing text, with costs doubling each subsequent year for up to three years.

Organizations can't skip initial years to save money, as the updates are cumulative. Some users may avoid fees if they connect Windows 10 endpoints to Windows 365 Cloud PCs. The program also covers Windows 10 virtual machines running on Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop for three years with an active Windows 365 subscription.

Grumbling heard from IT and Accounting

[UnknowingFool]

I was talking to some IT guys and they were not happy about the Windows 11 upgrade cycle. Yes we have Enterprises licenses for 10 and 11 with planned eventual migration to 11. But the migration to 11 had to be accelerated for PC replacements as some PCs had to be retired early than they would have liked. Accounting was not happy as PC costs were going to be higher due to accelerated migrations. Also Windows 11 was released in the midst of major supply chain issues so the overall effect was Windows 11 cost way more than original budgeted.

Fail Your Way to the Top

[organgtool]

Microsoft will charge commercial customers $61 per device in the first year

Microsoft, like many companies, has been trying to push people to software-as-a-service. After making a version of Windows so undesirable that many people would prefer to pay a yearly fee to remain on the old one rather than upgrade, I think they may have succeeded.

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

Most Enterprises will already have contracts for Windows 10 support after EOL; however, companies will have retire their hardware sooner than they would have liked because MS is so insistent everyone use 11.

Re:

[Zocalo]

Yeah, but it's still a case of picking your poison. Unlike consumers, I doubt many IT departments are still rocking hardware without TPM2.0 on the front lines (maybe in labs and other repurposed usage cases), but it is still going to require moving your users to the UI abomination of Windows 11 with all the migration costs, staff training, and other compatibility & support issues that entails at some point. Judging by current the lacklustre uptake, consumers are already baulking at the upgrade, whethe

Re:

[jonbryce]

You don't need Coffee Lake to run Remote Desktop and Teams. Ivy Bridge will do that just fine.

Perhaps Window 11 Changes Were for the Worst

[BrendaEM]

Obsoleting many useful systems, reduced Start menu, constant challenges to Quick Launch, obfuscated right-click menu, increased memory and disk footprint, increased AI threat--and no new useful features.

For us plebs the Win10 ESU is only 31$ per year...

[williamyf]

the first and only year we have available. Afterwards is either moving to Winserver 2022, going to 0patch + praying for no kernel level exploits (as 0patch can not patch kernel level stuff), the high seas, or bending the license like a pretzel if you want to keep usinng the Win10 code base securely.

If you move to Winserver 2022, you will be supported until early 2033. And I would not trust 0patch beyond 2027.

The ESU (both WinXP and Win7 and now Win10) has never been about making life easy for Orgs staying on the old version of windows, rather, is about (cattle)prod the orgs to move to the next version. Same this time around.

And believe you me, the money MS collects from the ESU is a drop in the sea for them, again, the objective of the cost is to (cattle)prod organizations to move away from the old version.

 

What about home users?

[apn_k]

What about home users? Will they be paying the same price as the commercial users?

Re:What about home users?

[UnknowingFool]

Home users have zero choice after October 14, 2025. Windows 10 consumer editions are EOL. They could upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC which unfortunately is not a real option for most home users. I suspect some home users will install a dodgy Windows 10 LTSC license they find on the Internet. The risk is that technically their home PC is now owned and maintained by the administrators of that license which means the admins can take over the PC whenever they like.

Re:

[nightflameauto]

I would suspect *MOST* home users won't even think about it if they aren't already considering buying a new PC. They'll just keep using their PC. Unless Microsoft does a rug-pull and doesn't let Windows 10 boot when it hits end of support. Something tells me that would be a step too far for them at this point, though you never know. They are pretty greedy, and at times not real savvy when it comes to expected public reactions. I still suspect Windows 10 will just keep being used by people that aren't tech o

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

From what I can tell, most home users are migrating off PCs in general. Sure some people still have uses for desktops and laptops but phones and tablets can accomplish most of what the average home user needs. They would like to keep their existing PC if possible. If it runs EOL Windows 10, they'll just keep it. They won't consider buying a new Win 11 PC.

Re:

[Cowardly Lurker]

I am considering a new PC build. Hopefully one that still retains its "not compatible with Win11" feature.

Re:

[Penguinoflight]

You can activate ltsc/iot with the same kms emulating activation tools as other editions of windows, or so I've heard, I would never personally avoid microsoft's unreasonable activation scam

Re:

[Alumoi]

The alpha testers? They will upgrade to Windows 11 and will be happy about it.

How many can switch to Linux?

[Murdoch5]

Honest question, and it's not 100%, how many business PCs can run Linux? When you consider the overall costs of using Windows, between IT, upkeep, downtime, patching, security BS, administration, how much money does it cost to run a single Windows endpoint? How many PCs in the business world would be able to get by with Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, or another commercial ready distro?

I'm not suggesting you throw Gentoo, or Arch on the accountant's computer, don't do that. From working in the business IT worl

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

Honest question, and it's not 100%, how many business PCs can run Linux?

Many businesses run Linux; however, few of them run a large Linux desktop base for their average corporate users. Many businesses happily run Linux servers for decades now. Most of the companies I worked, the average corporate user needed some Windows/Microsoft compatible software. These days as more applications are browser based, the need for Windows is less.

Re:

[Murdoch5]

Of course, but I pointed that out, Linux is the only real option in the server room, on IoT or embedded devices, but always lacks on the desktop.

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

Surprisingly I see more and more Macs at work these days as the reliance on Windows wanes. The main reason is that Macs (even Apple silicon) can run Microsoft software like Office and they still get hardware support. The tradeoff is they cost more. The IT guys have a love/hate relationship with Macs. On one hand they are far more reliable according to them and they do not get as many support tickets. On the other hand, Macs need a bit more improvement on the Enterprise management side of things.

Server Linux

Re:

[Murdoch5]

Yes, the major issue is that the serious hardware supplies don't supply, or support, desktop Linux. That has the added downside that once you put Linux on a Windows computer, then Dell, or Lenovo will just say: “Linux, we don't support that”. I have an outstanding issue with a bunch of Lenovo notebooks (terrible piles of crap), where the power buttons don't work correctly. It's a known hardware flaw in the model where if they sleep / suspend, you can't wake them up. It can get to the point y

Re:

[Sebby]

The issue has nothing to do with the OS, you can trigger it in FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, OpenSolaris, but that one word “Linux”, stops the support.

I'd say it's time for a lawsuit.

Re:

[Murdoch5]

Why? We might have 15k worth of those notebooks, and a lawyer would cost 20k, so screw it. It has dropped Lenovo from our support hardware vendor list.

Re:

[Cowardly Lurker]

I bet Oracle would love to step in and "help".

Re:

[Zocalo]

All our x64 PCs (we also have some Macs) are currently deployed with Windows 10 Enterprise by default, but users can also request that one of four Linux distros be deployed in a dual boot setup that provide a choice of front-ends and centrally managed packaging/update systems. Most of our engineers and technical staff go dual boot, with nearly all of the support being peer-based rather than through the IT help desk, so the uptick in TCO is quite low. We have a smaller Linux uptake in other departments, bu

Re:

[Murdoch5]

I said 50%, it's probably upwards of 90%, and I'm going to openly admit there are some use cases where Windows is a better fit, not many, but some.

I wonder how SteamOS will do

[SumDog]

I have yet to install Windows 11 on anything. I have two Win10 machines, a gaming rig with my 3080-Ti in it and a home theater PC. I'm currently testing out some alpha Mesa/mpv/Vulkan/Plasma6 stuff to see if I can get HDR working in Linux. If I can watch stuff in HDR on Linux, there's no reason for VLC+Windows.

As far as the gaming box, I wonder if we'll start to see a boom in SteamOS compatible games. I hope Valve rips the fucking gaming market out from Microsoft. If SteamOS gets enough of the PC/Desktop

Renting software

[gosso920]

So hot right now.

Re:

[ihavesaxwithcollies]

Just wait till extortion and pay per click. You want to open a file? 75 cents and don't forget the mandatory data mining government prevention fee. You don't want leon musk and his gang of street urchins selling your private information and erasing your votes?

Shiver me timbers.

[derplord]

.

(And they're all signed so no worries about malware either).

The high seas await

[jbarr]

If only [Windows 10] had some sort of, I don't know, [L]ong-[T]erm [S]ervicing [C]hannel to that could provide a solution.

Unfortunately, such a solution could cause a [mass]ive departure from normal support channels resulting in [grave] consequences.

Microsoft's strongest case ever

[LeadGeek]

...for considering Linux instead. Seriously, this is mostly about milking existing customers for more money and "creating" a hardware update dependency on it. This unholy backwoods agreement between MS and a certain PC manufacturer really needs to be investigated.

Interesting reading:
https://www.theantitrustattorn... [theantitrustattorney.com]

Fair Rational Pricing

[ThumpBzztZoom]

Windows 10 Home was $99, Pro was $199 and Pro Enterprise was $309 and were supported for 10 years.

Adding 3 more years of support is $427.

It's completely fair and rational pricing of security only updates for only 138% - 431% of the new price of the entire operating system, provided you are an executive at Microsoft whose bonus depends on it.

I'm wondering how long before someone at Microsoft floats the idea of Microsoft themselves writing and releasing a virus for Windows 10 to speed up the payments/upgrade