#windows 7 end of support

Microsoft officially announced the end of support for Windows 8.1 on January 10, 2023. Windows 7's three-year extended software support also now met its end. Due to its popularity among users, Windows 7 that officially ended support on January 14, 2020 got an Extended Security (ESU) program for three more years of software support. Microsoft recommends buying a new Windows 11 PC and that makes sense as PCs built with Windows 7 are running technology that is over a decade old already. [caption id="attachment_325429" align="alignnone" width="570"] A laptop running Windows 11 | Image/ Microsoft[/caption] It said that there aren't any free upgrade paths from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10/11, and that the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 already ended in 2016. End of support means that your computer will not get security updates anymore, and Microsoft customer service will no longer provide technical support for the outdated operating systems. Microsoft governs its fixed lifecycle policy of 10 years minimum of extended software support, thus Windows 10 is also about to reach its end in 2025. To keep those legacy machines safe from potential threats, the tech giant introduced the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program last year, allowing personal account users to opt into continued patch coverage. Read more in our articles including "Windows 7 and 8.1 are dead for good: Microsoft recommends buying new Windows 11 PC" and "Microsoft extends Windows 10 lifespan for another year... again".