Repair Advocates Tell Microsoft: Stop the ‘End of Windows 10’

Earlier this year, Peter Volin, 78, logged onto his computer at his home in Albany to find an email from Microsoft that he described as “irritating.”

It informed him that his trusty personal computer, which he used for word processing, editing photos and keeping in touch with friends, would soon no longer receive free, automatic updates from Microsoft. His computer’s operating system was running Windows 10, and he needed to upgrade to the new version, Windows 11, to continue receiving support.

Volin asked his local computer repair service to help with the upgrade, and that’s when he got the bad news. His computer didn’t meet the hardware requirements to upgrade to Windows 11, and he would have to get a new computer.

Volin said he spent around $1,500 to purchase a new machine and hire a repair service to transfer over his files and install his preferred programs.

“That’s an expense I could have put off for another couple of years,” he said. “ I had a computer that was really filling all my needs.”

As Microsoft is set to end free, automatic updates for Windows 10 on Tuesday, consumer advocacy organizations expect hundreds of millions of computer users, like Volin, will ditch their old machines in order to stay current with Microsoft’s latest software.

Right to repair advocates, however, are calling on the company to reverse the move, saying it will lead to millions of computers being thrown away and leave those who don’t upgrade vulnerable to security threats.

Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 over 10 years ago, and it’s still widely popular, with around 35% of all Windows users still running the operating system, according to StatCounter, a web analytics service. Still, the company announced in 2023 that Windows 10’s days were numbered.

End of support means that while Windows 10 computers will continue to function, Microsoft will no longer offer free technical support, software updates or security fixes to its users.

Microsoft calls Windows 11 “a more modern, secure, and highly efficient computing experience,” and users have reported 62% fewer security incidents with Windows 11 than Windows 10.

Those with computers that meet hardware eligibility requirements can upgrade to Windows 11 for free. Microsoft is also offering an “extended security update” program, where Windows 10 users can purchase continued support through Oct.13, 2026.

Jenn Engstrom, the state director of the California Public Interest Research Group, called the “end of 10” a “lose-lose-lose” situation.

“It’s bad for consumers. It’s bad for security, and it’s bad for the environment,” she said.

According to Engstrom, it’s estimated that up to 400 million Windows 10 users worldwide have computers that lack the hardware to upgrade to Windows 11. In a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella calling on the company to continue free, automatic updates for Windows 10, CALPIRG and other organizations warned this could be the “single biggest jump in junked computers ever.”

“When Microsoft stops providing security updates for Windows 10, those computers will either be insecure and unsafe to keep using, or else turn into junk and get thrown out. Less than a quarter of electronic waste is recycled, so most of those computers will end up in landfills,” the letter stated.

Past campaigns to pressure Microsoft into continuing support have been successful. In 2024, Microsoft extended Windows 10 security updates to schools in the United States for three years after a campaign by consumer advocates. Pressure from a European consumer advocacy group has also led Microsoft to offer free automatic updates for the next year to Windows 10 users in the European Economic Area.

“ We think that when people buy a device, they should be able to use it as long as they possibly can,” Engstrom said.

KQED reached out to Microsoft, but a spokesperson declined to comment. The company has also not responded to calls by CALPIRG and other organizations to extend free, automatic Windows 10 support in the United States.

Del Jaljaa, the owner of San Francisco Computer Repair on the edge of the city’s Mission District, said he has seen a steady drumbeat of clients over the past few months coming in seeking help with their upgrade.

“ I don’t know why they’re ending [Windows 10],” Jaljaa said. “It seems from the working perspective that it does the same thing [as Windows 11].”

Jaljaa said he has been telling his customers not to panic, and that if they want to keep using Windows 10, they can get by with a good antivirus software.

“ But those computers, they’re getting old too. They might just be forced to get a new computer,” Jaljaa said.

Other groups in the right to repair movement have started an End of 10 initiative, which provides tools and help to Windows 10 users to convert their computer to a Linux operating system to keep it working securely.

But some information technology professionals, like Vladimir Galant, see the “end of 10” as a normal part of the technology lifecycle.

”Sometimes you have to replace outdated hardware. I don’t see a real concern here,” said Galant, owner of 911 PC Help in San Francisco, which provides outsourced IT departments for small businesses in the Bay Area. “The majority of our clients understand the necessity to upgrade, because if something happens security-wise, they can go down for a long time, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”