Microsoft releases update-fixing update for update-eligible Windows 10 PCs

Summary

Once the update is installed, the ESU enrollment process should work as intended. Most Windows 10 security and bug-fixing updates from here on out will require you to be enrolled in the ESU program. Though we’re glad that the ESU program exists as a recourse for people who don’t want to (or can’t) upgrade to Windows 11 or move to some other OS, the fact that PCs must be manually enrolled is still frustrating. But 2025 is, in Microsoft’s own words, “the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh,” and adding a little bit of friction to the enrollment process (rather than just silently and automatically delivering updates for another year) is likely to drive some hardware and software upgrades. If you do enroll your PC in the ESU program, it only gets you security patches until October of 2026. Businesses, schools, and other large Microsoft customers will be able to pay for a second and third year of updates after that, but those updates aren’t officially being offered to individual users.