Microsoft has announced that the last day it will offer security support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Windows 10 will be October 14, 2025. Businesses that rely on Microsoft 365 apps and use the outdated operating system should upgrade to Windows 11.
“After that date, if you run Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 device, apps will continue to work as before,” Microsoft said in the announcement. “However, we strongly recommend upgrading to Windows 11 to avoid performance and reliability issues over time.”
This applies to the subscription version of Office, Microsoft 365, and the non-subscription versions of Office 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016. Microsoft says that when a user upgrades to Windows 11, all Microsoft 365 features and security updates are available. They will resume as before. and they can run an Office update to ensure they have the latest version.
SEE: What's inside Microsoft's major Windows 11 update?
This October outage will also mark the end of support for Windows 10, joining Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 in the operating system graveyard. However, Windows 10 remains the most used Microsoft operating system, with 62.7% of the market share as of December 2024. Windows 11 has only 34.12% of the market share.
Microsoft calls 2025 'the year of the Windows 11 PC upgrade'
Microsoft has called 2025 “the year of the Windows 11 PC upgrade.” Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president of Microsoft, said in a blog post: “We believe that one of the most important pieces of technology that people will look to upgrade in 2025 is not the refrigerator, TV or mobile phone. “It will be their Windows 10 PC and they will move forward with Windows 11.”
The post apparently attempts to ask users to upgrade by associating Windows 11 with their Copilot+ PCs and other AI innovations. Microsoft has also attempted to pester users into submission by displaying full-screen pop-ups suggesting users update their device and transfer their files.
SEE: Microsoft Copilot cheat sheet: price, versions and benefits
Windows 11 has proven to be a controversial update due to the “non-negotiable” requirement that devices wishing to do so must have Trusted Platform Module 2.0, which was announced in 2021. Microsoft claims that TPM 2.0 “raises the security foundation” by enabling features like BitLocker, Windows Hello, and virtualization-based security, which are necessary to protect against modern threats like ransomware.
PCs manufactured after mid-2016 generally support TPM 2.0, although it may need to be enabled in BIOS, but only CPUs released after 2018 will support Windows 11. Older PCs without TPM 2.0 cannot officially run the operating system. ; Users must upgrade the hardware or, at their own risk, bypass the requirements by using one of the many workarounds discovered by the Windows community.
Microsoft offers extended security updates
For those who are determined to continue using Office apps on Windows 10, there is one more way to do so safely. Microsoft is offering extended security updates to consumers for the first time, meaning that for $30, anyone can receive an additional year of “critical and important security updates.” Registration for this will open “closer to the end of support in 2025.”
Companies will be able to pay up to three years of ESU. It will cost $61 for the first year but the price will double for each consecutive year. Registration for this is now open and the first update will roll out in November.
Those who purchased the Windows 10 Long Term Service Branch or Long Term Service Channel will also continue to receive security updates after October 14.
