Thanks for the info, and
you can enroll those PCs in the paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program. ESUs allow you to receive critical and/or important security updates for Windows 10 PCs .. You can purchase ESU licenses for Windows 10 devices that you don't plan to upgrade to Windows 11 starting in October 2024, one year before the end of support date. The price of the ESU program will double every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years. If you decide to jump into the program in Year Two, you'll have to pay for Year One too, as ESUs are cumulative. The 5-by-5 activation subscription will establish the Year One list price of ESU for Windows 10. - https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/when-to-use-windows-10-extended-security-updates/4102628
https://www.zdnet.com/article/cant-quit-windows-10-you-can-pay-microsoft-for-updates-after-october-or-try-these-alternatives/: Business customers will need to pay dearly to stick with Windows 10. A license for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is sold as a subscription. For the first year, the cost is $61. For year two, the price doubles, and it doubles again for year three. That Microsoft blog post doesn't do the math on those, probably because the total is uncomfortably high. A three-year ESU subscription will cost $61 + $122 + $244, for a total of $427 per PC. .
Consumers will be able to sign up for a one-year ESU subscription for $30. That's roughly half what businesses will pay for that first year. The deal comes with two significant restrictions, however. First, it's available only for "personal use," a move that's obviously designed to discourage business customers from trying to get security updates at a discount. Second, the subscription can't be renewed after that first year. On October 25, 2026, security updates will stop for good on those consumer PCs....Microsoft says that ESU program enrollment for consumers will be available closer to the end of support date.
First, it's available only for "personal use," a move that's obviously designed to discourage business customers from trying to get security updates at a discount. Second, the subscription can't be renewed after that first year. On October 25, 2026, security updates will stop for good on those consumer PCs.
Education customers are getting off much easier. The rules are the same, but the price for the first year is $1. It doubles to $2 in the second year and doubles again to $4 in the third and final year, for a grand total of ... $7 per PC.
Are there any alternatives to ESU subscriptions?
An ESU subscription entitles customers to receive updates delivered automatically through Windows Update. If Microsoft follows its customary practices, those updates will also be available for download individually through the Microsoft Update Catalog.
It's a tedious process, but a customer who's determined to save money could set a calendar reminder to check for new updates a day or two after those updates are delivered on the second Tuesday of the month and install them manually.I am running Q/11 Pro which is a result of buying an upgrade from XP to W/8 for $29 (New Egg) years ago. Which was on the Retail Channel and thus legal to be removed from one PC to another without limits. And I thank God for the safe free options to regard lost functions and other aspects that "updates" removed.
bkmk