Windows 10 users can now sign up for free extended security updates

Microsoft has given the official go-ahead for users who want to register for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU). Those who are still on Windows 10 but don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 yet can continue to receive free security updates and keep using it for a while longer.

Only a month ago, Microsoft announced that it would extend free security updates for Windows 10 as an alternate path for users who didn’t want to pay the initially announced $30 per-device ESU fee. It’s now possible to sign up for this free ESU program, reports Windows Central.

Microsoft offers a new enrollment wizard for this, which is only presented at the very end of this blog post that’s mainly about AI:

Starting today, individuals will begin to see an enrollment wizard through notifications and in Settings, making it simple to select the best option for you and enroll in ESU directly from your personal Windows 10 PC.

How to get the free Windows 10 updates

To get free security updates for Windows 10 for an extra year after the October end-of-life deadline, Microsoft says you need to update your device by installing the latest Windows updates. The new wizard should then appear, which not only warns you about the end of support for Windows 10 but also displays the options for ESU updates.

On our test device, which is still running Windows 10, we unfortunately did not receive this option even after a fresh update plus restart. It’s possible that the rollout for this is being staggered, or the option is triggered by something else.

If you’re lucky enough to get the wizard, you can choose the free ESU path which requires synchronizing your PC settings data with the cloud via Microsoft account. To do this, you can either use the 5GB of free storage space provided by OneDrive or pay for a subscription to get more storage space. (But then it’s no longer free.)

Alternatively, if you prefer a cloudless option, you can still pay $30 for the ESU extension. This option lasts for up to three years, with the price increasing in the second and third years.

Important: The Windows 10 ESU program only includes security updates. Registered devices will not receive any feature updates or bug fixes. Starting October, you’ll only receive these with Windows 11.

It will be interesting to see whether the additional year of free support will further slow down user migration to Windows 11. In any case, you now have more time to make your decision.