So, Microsoft intends to continue mainstream support for Windows 10 until October 13, 2020. Following that, extended support will end on October 14th, 2025.
Just to clarify, mainstream support for a Windows OS refers to the enhancement of the product through the release of new features, design changes or performance upgrades. Once mainstream support ends, if it’s non-security related, it ain’t happening.
Just by the way, the end of mainstream support also, usually, means the end of warrantees. That ends on October 13, 2020.
Extended support, on the other hand, includes security updates as well as hotfixes and general reliability patches. Once that’s over, come October 14th, 2025, you’re on your own.
There is an interesting Footnote (about Windows 10) to the main article (the text in red has been coloured by myself):
“Updates are cumulative, with each update built upon all of the updates that preceded it. A device needs to install the latest update to remain supported. Updates may include new features, fixes (security and/or non-security), or a combination of both. Not all features in an update will work on all devices. A device may not be able to receive updates if the device hardware is incompatible, lacking current drivers, or otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (“OEM”) support period. Update availability may vary, for example by country, region, network connectivity, mobile operator (e.g., for cellular-capable devices), or hardware capabilities (including, e.g., free disk space).”
Keep in mind that these updates will be unavoidable. Windows 10’s updates, whether during mainstream or extended support, are non-negotiable (unless you have Windows 10 Pro).
So, as I see it, your “device” could become “crippled” overnight if an update is installed that renders a component useless.
See the full article here:
My Rig: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core CPU; ASUS Cross Hair VIII Formula Mobo; Win 11 Pro (64 bit)-(UEFI-booted); 32GB RAM; 2TB Corsair Force Series MP600 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD. 1TB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 NVME SSD; MSI GeForce RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X 24G OC; Microsoft 365 Home; Condusiv SSDKeeper Professional; Acronis Cyberprotect, VMWare Workstation Pro V17.5. HP 1TB USB SSD External Backup Drive). Dell G-Sync G3223Q 144Hz Monitor.
