“The only sane Windows left”: Microsoft faces backlash after ending Windows 10 support — “Now we’re all getting Windows 11’d to death”

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Microsoft officially stopped supporting Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. They released a final security update with bug fixes and improvements, marking the end of life for the operating system. This change could affect around 500 million computers.

Microsoft is strongly encouraging users to switch to Windows 11, and has been using prominent, full-screen ads to promote the upgrade. They’ve made claims, such as Windows 11 PCs being up to 2.3 times faster than Windows 10, which has led some users to feel that the planned end of support for Windows 10 is a deliberate strategy to drive sales of new Copilot+ PCs.

If you’re hesitant to switch to Windows 11 because your computer doesn’t meet the requirements or you’re concerned about its design, you can still get security updates for Windows 10 through Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, even after it’s no longer officially supported.

To continue receiving security updates, you’ll need to either connect your PC settings to a Microsoft account, use 1,000 Microsoft Reward points, or pay $30 for updates covering up to 10 devices. However, if you’re in the European Economic Area, these requirements don’t apply – Microsoft is offering the updates for free in that region.

Despite this, Microsoft is still facing criticism and negative reactions from users for sticking to its plan to stop supporting Windows 10.

The Restart Project, a group that created the “End of 10” toolkit to help people still using Windows 10, believes Microsoft’s decision to continue providing security updates for the older operating system is just a temporary fix to a bigger problem. They describe it as hitting the snooze button on a critical issue and are urging politicians to take action.

Microsoft’s choice is speeding up how quickly products are thrown away, hindering attempts to make them last longer, and increasing the strain on our planet’s resources and waste disposal systems.

Windows 10 users aren’t thrilled about Microsoft ending support for the decade-old OS

Social media has been filled with posts lately as people react to the end of Windows 10. Many users are sharing fond memories and some constructive criticism directed at Microsoft.

As highlighted by one user on X:

I’m surprised Windows 10 was discontinued. Its simple, modern design has been popular in graphic design for a decade, and it worked really well – it was user-friendly and intended to be a long-lasting version of Windows.

However, others appeared happy that Microsoft was discontinuing the operating system.

Windows 10 was a really frustrating experience for me – honestly, the worst operating system I’ve ever used. I constantly ran into issues, and the search function was completely unreliable. I’m glad to be done with it!

One user said they plan to stop using Windows and switch to Linux instead.

I didn’t like Windows 10 initially, but it ended up being the most reliable version of Windows I’ve used. Thanks for the good times – now I’m switching to Linux.

You might recall a campaign called End of 10, which is encouraging people to switch from Windows 10 to Linux. This push comes after Microsoft announced it will no longer support Windows 10. The campaign appeals to loyal Windows 10 users by highlighting that Linux doesn’t have ads or track your data, making it a good option for older computers.

Some people claimed Windows 11 contained a lot of spyware, while also praising Windows 10 as being better.

It feels like the end of an era for Windows 10. Many users appreciated it for being more private, and now it seems everyone is being forced to upgrade to Windows 11, which raises concerns about data privacy.

As Windows 10 reached its end of support, many people shared their favorite memories of using the operating system, reflecting on what they enjoyed most about it.

So long, Windows 10 (2015–2025)! We’ll remember the confusing Start menu, those surprise updates in the middle of the night, and even the frustrating blue screens. Thanks for the memories, good and bad!

Microsoft has retired the classic Windows Blue Screen of Death, replacing it with a simpler black screen. When a critical error occurs, the new screen will display a message saying “your device ran into a problem and needs to restart,” along with an error code and information about which system file or driver caused the issue.

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2025-10-15 14:40