How to sign up for free extended updates in Windows 10 to stay safe until October 2026
If you’re using Windows 10, it likely hasn’t escaped your attention that the operating system reaches its End of Life today. In other words, the October update that rolls out from today is the final instalment of the official support provided by Microsoft for this last-gen OS. Going forward, no more updates will be delivered for Windows 10.
Well, that’s not quite true – if you take no action, you’ll get no more updates, but what you can do is sign up for Windows 10’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) scheme, which allows a Windows 10 PC to receive updates for a further year (through to October 2026).
It’s a lifeline for consumers that Microsoft has never offered before – only businesses have received extended support when Windows operating systems have been sidelined in the past – and you can get it for free, too, albeit with a slight catch.
But how do you sign up for the ESU exactly? And that caveat for getting it free, namely that you must sync your PC settings to OneDrive – how does that work? Whatever your source of puzzlement, in this article I’ll show you the exact steps you need to take to enrol for the ESU.
Fortunately, there’s nothing particularly tricky involved, but it’s handy to know where to go, and what you need to do in terms of that syncing requirement. Let’s go through the process step-by-step.
1. Sign in with a Microsoft account
First off, you need to ensure that you’re signed into a Microsoft account with your copy of Windows 10. If you’re running a local account in Windows 10, you won’t be able to enrol for extended updates.
If you don’t have a Microsoft account, you’ll need to create one, then switch to it in Windows 10 before you proceed. You can switch over to a Microsoft account in Settings > Accounts > Your info where there’s the option to sign in with one, rather than the local account you’re using.
For those thinking they can just use a ‘throwaway’ Microsoft account, and switch back to their local account in Windows 10 once they’re in the ESU program, that isn’t the case. Be warned that Microsoft will make ongoing checks to see whether you’re using a Microsoft account during the free year of support.
2. Open Windows Update and click on the ESU offer
In Windows 10, open the Windows Update panel – simply type Windows Update in the search box on the taskbar, and click on ‘Check for updates’ (you’ll see the option appear at the top of the search panel before you even finish typing).
In Windows Update, click on ‘Enrol now’, which you’ll find just under the button marked ‘Check for updates’ in the box titled ‘Windows 10 support ends in October 2025’.
3. Choose to enrol in the ESU
You’ll see a panel about enrolling in Extended Security Updates to stay protected, click on ‘Next’.
4. Sync your PC settings if necessary
If you’ve already backed up your Windows settings, you’ll see the above panel informing you of this, and that you’re eligible to get extended updates at “no extra cost”. All that’s left to do is click on the ‘Enrol’ button, but you may want to have a look at Microsoft’s terms of use (TOU) and privacy statement by clicking the respective links first. That’s you sorted for extended updates for another year.
However, if you haven’t backed up your PC settings and synced them to OneDrive (Microsoft’s cloud storage), you’ll instead see an option to do this – simply select that and click on ‘Next’ and again choose to ‘Enrol’. Remember, you’re only syncing your Windows 10 settings, not any of your personal files, folders, or apps.
If you don’t want to sync anything, you can elect to pay $30 (or 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points) by choosing one of those options instead.
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If you’re using Windows 10, it likely hasn’t escaped your attention that the operating system reaches its End of Life today. In other words, the October update that rolls out from today is the final instalment of the official support provided by Microsoft for this last-gen OS. Going forward, no…
