What should you do after Windows 10's extended updates end

Written at: 2/9/2026 Edited at: 2/12/2026

Contents:

Why the hell am I writing this after 3-4ish months of EOL?

I don't really have a specific reason, but I was bored after finishing some work and I didn't know what to do not gonna lie.

What should you do?

Here's a list of things you could do after the "extended updates" period end.

Keep using Windows 10 (unsafe unless you have a 3rd party antivirus like Malwarebytes or CCleaner)

This is the option I would NOT go with (except if it's IoT LTSC or just LTSC), as people can get easily hacked by the risk of being exposed to hackers, as there isn't any security patch since October 2025.

You could still keep using it, but software support is going to end slowly.

Upgrade to Windows 10 LTSC

This is a good option if you want to keep using Windows 10. There are 2 variants of LTSC: Regular LTSC or IoT LTSC. Windows 10 LTSC will get its end of life in 2029, while IoT LTSC has its EOL in 2032. (before 2K38 or UNIX time bug moment) LTSC will have updates until 2029, and Windows 10 IoT LTSC will get updates until 2032.

Upgrade to Windows 11

This is BY FAR the option that people who doesn't have the newest hardware hate. Most people would just "if it works it's fine" and not upgrade. But some people want security updates and not get hacked so they are forced to upgrade their hardware.

Should you switch to Linux?

It depends on what you want to use. Many people would just get something that looks like Windows or MacOS (as an example, Fedora with KDE Plasma, which looks like Windows 10 but with a costumisable taskbar, so you can put your desktop icons on the middle). I would recommend 100% to switch to Linux. After that, you can make a Windows 10/11 VM using either VMWare or VirtualBox to run Windows software, and then, enable 3D accerelation and try to passthough the GPU. If your organization, business or school use Microsoft Office 365, this COULD be an issue, but, you if you have to use Office because "Your organization needs it", you can use the web version. If you have to write Microsoft Docx documents that you don't need to share it with any person, you can use other alternatives like: LibreOffice and other open-source projects. (Note: LibreOffice is the one preinstalled in some distros, and that is what I know. I don't know any other opensource projects so you can email me for changes on this page. I'll try to credit whoever helps or whatever)