Overview
- With Windows 10 support ending on October 14, the November 11 Patch Tuesday updates will be issued only to ESU-enrolled PCs, and recent exploitation fixes highlight the risk of waiting.
- Consumers can get one year of coverage free by backing up settings to a Microsoft account or by redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or they can pay $30; in the EEA, signing in with a Microsoft account also enables free ESU.
- Enrollment links the license to a Microsoft account and appears in Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update for eligible Windows 10 22H2 editions once recent updates are installed.
- Enterprises must purchase ESU via Volume Licensing or CSP partners for up to three years (reported total $427 per device) and activate with tools such as Intune, WSUS or Configuration Manager, while Windows 365 Enterprise and Frontline cloud PCs receive ESU at no cost.
- Some users—particularly in parts of Europe—see “temporarily unavailable” or “Something went wrong” errors, with Microsoft citing a staged regional rollout and cases where consumer PCs are misidentified as work devices until old work or school accounts are removed.