Microsoft has changed its earlier decision about supporting Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10. Originally, security updates for apps like Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Word, and Excel were supposed to stop on October 14, 2025. Now, these updates will continue on Windows 10 for a few more years.

This important policy change means users will keep getting security updates for these essential tools until October 10, 2028, which is three years later than the original end date. Microsoft’s announcement of this extension gives users who might struggle to upgrade to Windows 11 more time to make the switch.

The extended support will come through the usual update channels, so users won’t need to change how they get updates. Even so, there’s still the urgency to switch to Windows 11. While the apps will keep working on Windows 10 after the support date, they might start having performance or reliability problems over time. Security updates for Windows 10 itself will still end on October 14, 2025, and other apps may start dropping support around that time or soon afterwards.

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When Will Microsoft Stop Supporting Windows 10?

According to Microsoft’s lifecycle website, the company will officially support Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education editions until October 14, 2025. At that point, all regular desktop editions of Windows 10 will reach end-of-life status, which means that they’ll no longer receive security updates from Microsoft.

This means moving to Windows 11 is still the best long-term choice since it’s designed to work best with Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft likely wants the extra support for Windows 10 should be seen as a temporary fix, not a permanent one, so users can transition more smoothly.

Keeping some programs on Windows 10 may be more of Microsoft acknowledging that many users still use older hardware, or just don’t want to switch over. I haven’t switched over, but there’s still a six-month deadline, so I’m not worried. However, if you choose not to move to Windows 11 or another operating system (most likely a flavor of desktop Linux), you’re going to be stuck with a less safe version of Windows.

Another factor is Office 2024, a one-time purchase version of Microsoft Office. Unlike the subscription-based Microsoft 365, Office 2024 will be supported until October 2029, which is longer than the extended support for Microsoft 365 on Windows 10. This means Office 2024 will outlast Microsoft 365’s support on Windows 10 unless Microsoft extends it again.

If you’re still on Windows 10, you still need to switch to Windows 11 or another operating system, but now your Office apps won’t become an additional security vulnerability. You might also want to check out alternatives like LibreOffice, which should continue supporting Windows 10 for a while longer.

Source: Microsoft, Neowin