News Microsoft Appears to Be Dropping Windows 10 Support by 2025

[littlechipsbigchips]

And most people don't even buy or upgrade their OS
Most people get whatever OS comes with the system they buy.

most people I know assemble their PC themselves and buy the OS Retail or OEM ... and the one who bought retail upgraded all the time ... there is no point in buying the full system when you bought the retail older one . OEM is another story ofc because it can be used on one PC only.

 

[USAFRet]

most people I know assemble their PC themselves and buy the OS Retail or OEM ... and the one who bought retail upgraded all the time ... there is no point in buying the full system when you bought the retail older one . OEM is another story ofc because it can be used on one PC only.

1. Aside from an OS presinstalled on a prebuilt OS, there is no more "OEM vs Retails" with win 10.
That concept went out the window.

'most people I know' = a small subset of people who buy and use PC's.

"Most people" buy a PC or laptop, and use whatever OS it comes with. They do not purchase or upgrade the OS on their own.

Of the 1.x billion systems with Win 10 installed, how many do you think were individual OS purchases?

 

[littlechipsbigchips]

1. Aside from an OS presinstalled on a prebuilt OS, there is no more "OME vs Retails" with win 10.
That concept went out the window.

'most people I know' = a small subset of people who buy and use PC's.

"Most people" buy a PC or laptop, and use whatever OS it comes with. They do not purchase or upgrade the OS on their own.

Of the 1.x billion systems with Win 10 installed, how many do you think were individual OS purchases?

1- OEM and Retail win 10 still exists .. the preinstalled are all OEM and the one you buy from the stores are Retail (transferable to any other PC) unless you buy OEM serial key online .
2- you are wrong about most people dont upgrade on their own ... actually almost all people upgraded from win 98/95 to win XP , and from Vista/XP to win 7

I dont know about individual OS purchases numbers , but I know that most people like to upgrade even if their original PC came with preinstalled older system. and they HAVE to do it some times : today software does not even work with old windows versions , especially when it comes to movies and encoders decoders and hardware drivers.

 

[USAFRet]

1- OEM and Retail win 10 still exists .. the preinstalled are all OEM and the one you buy from the stores are Retail (transferable to any other PC) unless you buy OEM serial key online .

"OEM serial key online" is falsely labeled and/or bogus.
If you were to research at Microsoft, you'll find no mention of an OEM license that you can buy on its own.

2- you are wrong about most people dont upgrade on their own ... actually almost all people upgraded from win 98/95 to win XP , and from Vista/XP to win 7

People upgraded from 7 to 10 because it was Free and it was easy.


But, whatever.
My personal opinion...whatever comes after Win 10 will not incur any direct cost to the user. Unlike previous upgrades.

 

[littlechipsbigchips]

"OEM serial key online" is falsely labeled and/or bogus.
If you were to research at Microsoft, you'll find no mention of an OEM license that you can buy on its own.

Nothing changed about this , even at older times Microsoft did not sell OEM version to individuals directly , it was sold for companies and PC makers and stores who Assemble PCs . these stores sold the OEM to individuals ... I remember reading "for system builders only" on it . And many stores who followed the agreement refused to sell OEM to individual and never posted them for sale.

 

[USAFRet]

Nothing changed about this , even at older times Microsoft did not sell OEM version to individuals directly , it was sold for companies and PC makers and stores who Assemble PCs . these stores sold the OEM to individuals ... I remember reading "for system builders only" on it .

Yes, for "system builders".
Which included you and I.
That install was linked to that first motherboard, and you got no phone support from MS. That license was less expensive than a "Retail.

Today, with Win 10, that does not exist.
Things have changed. Significantly.

Today, the Win 10 Home/Pro license you buy from MS...it is indeed transferable to new hardware. There is no "system builder" level to buy.

 

[waltc3]

Looks to me as if someone is jumping to conclusions, again. Looks like Microsoft is talking about the original Win10 Home and Pro builds that were initially shipped in 2015. Good grief, I wouldn't expect anyone would be running those builds today, since there have been so many builds shipped since then--absolutely free of charge to upgrade. If Microsoft does decide to go to a higher Win10 number on or after 2025 I would bet that all those with a current retail Win10 lifetime license (I own two of them) will go to that newer version gratis as Microsoft would have to do this, imo. The other problem with this analysis is Win10 Enterprise/Server isn't included here, and going to "Win11" for consumers but staying Win10 otherwise would not make a lot of sense. Lots of info is missing here...😉

 

[littlechipsbigchips]

Yes, for "system builders".
Which included you and I.
That install was linked to that first motherboard, and you got no phone support from MS. That license was less expensive than a "Retail.

Today, with Win 10, that does not exist.
Things have changed. Significantly.

Today, the Win 10 Home/Pro license you buy from MS...it is indeed transferable to new hardware. There is no "system builder" level to buy.

not really , System builder originally was not retail .. there was no "retail OEM" to buy from stores had they followed the agreement with MS. System builders were companies that buy in MASS , and MS does not sell you as an individual ONE copy of OEM. "system builder" meant companies that Build PCs , like Dell and HP and Other PC stores who assemble PCs from different companies in one PC . MS made the Link to the motherboard for theses stores because they did not make the whole PC , but assemble it from different companies like Asus , MSI and so on . but it was never meant for personal PC builder.

today nothing has changed , companies (system builders companies) who want to sell OEM have windows keys lists and they send you one number online ... nothing has changed

 

[garylcamp]

A new Microsoft documentation has revealed the company is planning to drop Windows 10 Home and Pro support completely by 2025, hinting at a Windows 11 replacement.

Microsoft Appears to Be Dropping Windows 10 Support by 2025 : Read more

I am slowly learning Linux. It can now support most of my every day use (Internet, Office clone, Audacity, some light programming, DVD and VLC movie playback, Blender, etc.). So far I have few utilities and no reliable Photoshop/Premier Elements substitutes. I will keep W10 around for these and anything similar on a dual boot basis. No way I will do a subscription Win nor buy a W11. I have bought Win from Windows 2 up and no more. I am not counting new laptops/computer included systems. In fact, I will actively seek those without systems to cut costs. The system is so unreliable and changes so often (for no reason) I can not continue. I am losing years of knowledge, like knowing how to fix buggy wips.

 

[USAFRet]

and MS does not sell you as an individual ONE copy of OEM. "system builder"

Pre Win 10, they did.
You or I could purchase one.

 

[spongiemaster]

not really , System builder originally was not retail .. there was no "retail OEM" to buy from stores had they followed the agreement with MS. System builders were companies that buy in MASS , and MS does not sell you as an individual ONE copy of OEM. "system builder" meant companies that Build PCs , like Dell and HP and Other PC stores who assemble PCs from different companies in one PC . MS made the Link to the motherboard for theses stores because they did not make the whole PC , but assemble it from different companies like Asus , MSI and so on . but it was never meant for personal PC builder.

today nothing has changed , companies (system builders companies) who want to sell OEM have windows keys lists and they send you one number online ... nothing has changed

Yes, you could buy "system builder" versions of Windows pre Windows 10 from online retailers like Newegg. You couldn't buy it buy itself, you had to buy it along with other system components which qualified you as a system builder.

today nothing has changed , companies (system builders companies) who want to sell OEM have windows keys lists and they send you one number online ... nothing has changed

I don't know how it works with other major OEM's, but with Dell's at least, the Win10 key is programmed into the system BIOS. You can pull the key, but it won't work if you try and use it in another system. So that's not what they are selling online. Back in the Windows 7 days, Dell would put a sticker with the key on the system and those keys would work in any computer and could be upgraded to Windows 10 for free, which was really nice when we got rid of all our Windows 7 systems at work.

 

[USAFRet]

I don't know how it works with other major OEM's, but with Dell's at least, the Win10 key is programmed into the system BIOS. You can pull the key, but it won't work if you try and use it in another system. So the concept of OEM license still exists.

Right.
Dell/HP/Asus or simlar...that is the only avenue of getting an "OEM" license.
But you or I can't buy that license on its own.

Anything valid you purchase is basically the same as the previous versions "Retail" thing.

 

[spongiemaster]

Right.
Dell/HP/Asus or simlar...that is the only avenue of getting an "OEM" license.
But you or I can't buy that license on its own.

Anything valid you purchase is basically the same as the previous versions "Retail" thing.

Yup. You can no longer buy a windows system builder disk. Only retail now.

 

[waltc3]

"OEM serial key online" is falsely labeled and/or bogus.
If you were to research at Microsoft, you'll find no mention of an OEM license that you can buy on its own.



People upgraded from 7 to 10 because it was Free and it was easy.


But, whatever.
My personal opinion...whatever comes after Win 10 will not incur any direct cost to the user. Unlike previous upgrades.

OEM licenses are the licenses you get when you buy a new pre-built system which includes Win10--they expire along with the motherboard in that system. Stop using that motherboard--Windows license dies along with the original mobo. Additionally, if you upgraded from an OEM license in W7 or Vista or 8/.1 to Win10, your free upgrade is also OEM--and will expire with your current motherboard.

Retail license: You buy these separate from any pre-built computer, and the license follows the lifetime of the purchaser, not the motherboard. I upgraded in 2015 from a retail license for Win7--free upgrade--and my original retail license carried into my Win10 license as a retail license--I've changed motherboards 4 times, CPUs 3 times since then--in every instance Microsoft reactivated the license for the new hardware. (It's not a difficult process.)

As mentioned in my original post, I agree that the next version of Win10, whatever it's called, will likely follow the same upgrade path.

If you want to find out which license you have, do an Admin command prompt C:\windows\system32>slmgr /dlv and it will pop up a large box that will say either RETAIL or OEM license, and other info. You can also go C:\Windows\system32>slmgr /xpr and it will pop up a much smaller box giving you the status of your current license.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

I expect there will be opportunities to upgrade an activated Windows 10 license to a Windows 11 one for free, by being a part of the Insider Program, public beta program or some such thing.

I have a few Windows 10 licences that were upgraded from old Windows 7 bulk retail keys in the same way back when Windows 10 was being released. There isn't the same desperate push to get people off Windows 10 today as there was for getting people off Windows 7 though, so maybe free keys will be harder to come by.

 

[littlechipsbigchips]

I don't know how it works with other major OEM's, but with Dell's at least, the Win10 key is programmed into the system BIOS. You can pull the key, but it won't work if you try and use it in another system. So that's not what they are selling online. Back in the Windows 7 days, Dell would put a sticker with the key on the system and those keys would work in any computer and could be upgraded to Windows 10 for free, which was really nice when we got rid of all our Windows 7 systems at work.

Dell and HP and known companies dont sell OEM keys. it is the PC stores that assemble PCs from off the shelves components in the market that sell the OEM keys online. and their PC use keys and are not stored in the bios . they buy Windows OEM keys in Volumes , and receive a list of keys , and they sell some of them online without showing their identity. once they send you the key they remove it from their list (database) ... this is how it works today . MS turns a blind eye on it.

Yes, you could buy "system builder" versions of Windows pre Windows 10 from online retailers like Newegg. You couldn't buy it buy itself, you had to buy it along with other system components which qualified you as a system builder.

Many stores sold them alone without any system components. as I said , many stores did not respect their agreement with MS at all.

 

[Joseph_138]

The question I have is this going to be a free upgrade to windows 10 like 7 to 10 was. Or we need to purchase Windows 11?

Having to buy it will slow down mass adoption, like it did with Windows versions of the past. Giving it away free was the only reason so many people moved up from older versions to Windows 10. If they go back to a pay-to-play model, people will just keep using Windows 10. Giving away the official version also reduces the incentive to use pirated Windows.

 

[Colif]

perhaps Microsoft already has a different name picked out for the OS.

And throw 30 years worth of brand recognition away?
Everyone knows what windows is now, that would have them starting from scratch

Looks to me as if someone is jumping to conclusions, again. Looks like Microsoft is talking about the original Win10 Home and Pro builds that were initially shipped in 2015.

that is an interesting take on things. People scrambling for anything that paints 11 as real. this seems to back it up, but if it is just the original builds, that would make sense. The end date for Win 10 has been moving ever since it started.

Only time will tell. Speculating gets us no where. Especially if you wrong.
2025 seems too soon, how long did they keep extending 7 for? there are almost as many using 10 as 7 now so I don't know, it seems too short for the end date of all support.

 

[slurmsmckenzie]

I don't know much about why they would/wouldn't (or indeed could/couldn't) do this, but I do hope that Microsoft don't force an online account for whatever comes next with Windows. I've managed to avoid it on Win10 on my Surface Go and more recently on my new desktop build, but from what I could tell it hasn't been possible to to get Office since 2016 without an account (even if just to activate the licence). Obviously an OS is different to Office, but feels like they've been pushing harder and harder to get you to sign in to Windows.

 

[Colif]

if it is released, we will have to see if unplugging from internet before starting the isntall is enough to make it let you set up a local account.

 

[slurmsmckenzie]

if it is released, we will have to see if unplugging from internet before starting the isntall is enough to make it let you set up a local account.

Fingers crossed there. I think my bigger worry is that they will hide more stuff behind the sign-in, start cutting off features that people want/need unless they have an account. Hopefully unfounded!

 

[Colif]

i was fighting not attaching my MSA to licence on last PC and I only think it happened in error. I wasn't so concerned about this PC as it might as well be linked to same account as other licence is. I had an MSA anyway due to using Office, so now its all linked together.

I wonder if you will be able to install win 11 without a licence, as you can with win 10. It happily keep working for years without a licence.