Microsoft is trying to entice Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 with full-screen prompts 18 months before the end of the support break. Reddit user Woopinah9 discovered a notification “while working” in which Microsoft thanks Windows 10 “customers” for their loyalty with a full-screen message and then explains the end of support. You might be expecting a free upgrade as part of this break, but unfortunately this Reddit user’s PC can’t be upgraded to Windows 11, so it’s more like, “Hey, check out this cool thing we have!” Oh, but you can’t have it,” as one Redditor puts it.
While some Windows 10 users may see this prompt and upgrade to Windows 11, this Reddit user in particular has one of many millions of PCs that cannot be upgraded due to Microsoft’s hardware requirements for Windows 11. “Your PC is not for one Eligible for upgrade to Windows 11, but will continue to receive Windows 10 fixes and security updates until support ends on October 14, 2025,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The prompt also contains links to end of support articles and a promotional link for Windows 11. Options for dismissing the full-screen interrupt include “Learn more” and “Remind me later” buttons, suggesting that this prompt may appear more than once becomes . We reached out to Microsoft to clarify whether this is a one-time notification or if Windows 10 users should expect regular notifications like this over the next 18 months.
Surprisingly, Microsoft’s full-screen solicitation doesn’t directly mention that consumers can continue to safely use the operating system beyond October 14, 2025 if they’re willing to pay. Microsoft announced last week that it will cost businesses $61 per device for the first year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10. In the second year, this amount doubles to $122 and doubles again in the third year to $244.
Microsoft has not yet detailed ESU pricing for consumers, but the company previously announced that it would be offering these extended updates to consumers for the first time ever. Schools get a big discount: Microsoft offers a license for $1 for the first year, which then doubles to $2 for the second year and doubles again to $4 for the third year. It’s hoped non-business users of Windows 10 will receive similar discounts, but Microsoft says it will share details “at a later date.”
Windows 11 is only supported on CPUs released in 2018 or later and with devices that support TPM security chips built into the latest CPUs. As a result, the rollout of Windows 11 was slower than that of Windows 10, which was also offered as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users.