Windows 10 is officially reaching its end of life on October 14, 2025. This means that Microsoft will stop providing regular updates-including crucial security patches for most users. While the simplest path forward is to upgrade to Windows 11 for free, some people would like to say on Windows 10 for as long as possible. Here are your options to continue receiving security updates beyond the cutoff date.

Let’s take a look at the support end dates for each Windows 10 version:

	Windows 10 Home / Pro / Enterprise	Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021	Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021
Version	22h2	21h2	21h2
Updates / Support	Oct 14, 2025	Jan 12, 2027	Jan 13, 2032

You might be tempted to migrate all your machines to Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 in order to receive updates until 2032, but I advise caution:

👉 You’re likely better off using Windows 10 Enterprise (standard edition) with ESU updates.

Why?

While LTSC is great, however it’s based on Windows 10 version 21H2. That’s a problem because more and more software, and games, are starting to require 22H2 as the minimum supported version. A few examples include: Apple Devices and Oracle Database XE.

Developers who choose to support Windows 10 will target the latest version (22H2), not older ones like 21H2 (used by LTSC). So, even if LTSC is supported by Microsoft until 2032, you may run into software compatibility issues much sooner and your computer will become useless.

What About Security Updates?

That’s where ESU (Extended Security Updates) come in. ESU is a special license that allows you to continue receiving critical security patches beyond the October 14, 2025 deadline.

• ESU is currently expected to be available until October 14, 2028
• But, based on Windows 7, it’s very likely Microsoft will extend this support further, possibly up to 2032, to match the LTSC EoL timeline

ESU can be bought from Microsoft or enabled with MAS on any Windows 10 edition.

“But LTSC is cleaner and faster!”

That’s true, LTSC is known for being free of telemetry and general bloatware. However, Windows 10 Enterprise (standard) can be customized to behave just like LTSC using the Group Policy Editor or with a few clicks on the W10 Privacy tool.

⚠️ Despite what some people say, these tweaks won’t be reverted by updates.

What about Windows 10 IoT Enterprise (non-LTSC)?

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is the “standard” Windows Enterprise with updates such as 22h2 etc, as such it will reach end of life before the LTSC version. As described by Microsoft here and here:

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is functionally equivalent to Windows 10 Enterprise, (…) The difference is that Windows 10 Enterprise is licensed through Microsoft Volume Licensing (tied to end user at time of purchase) and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is licensed directly to IoT device builders (OEMs) and includes rules around dedicated use devices.

Conclusion

If compatibility, performance, and long-term security are important to you, Windows 10 Enterprise + ESU is the more future-proof route to go – all without sacrificing the “clean” LTSC experience.

👉 Download Windows 10 Enterprise: https://massgrave.dev/windows_10_links (Windows 10 Business 22H2 option)
👉 Activate / Enable ESU: https://massgrave.dev/#how-to-activate-windows–office (Select TSForge)