"In October last year, users globally were told that they could get a year of extended security updates after the October 14 2025 sunset date for Windows 10 support, if they're prepared to pay a one-off $30 fee (local rates apply). Then, in June this year, Microsoft offered a "free" option - if customers coughed up Microsoft Reward Points or used Windows Backup to sync their settings to the cloud."
"However, Luxembourg and Brussels-based consumer rights group Euroconsumers decided that this was not good enough. In July it wrote to Redmond [PDF] to argue that the policy was not in line with the Digital Markets Act or the Digital Content Directive. Or the EU's sustainability goals, come to that. This has prompted an apparent rethink at Microsoft, revealed in correspondence between Microsoft and Euroconsumers, and flagged by Tweakers this week."
"In the latest letter to Microsoft, Euroconsumers' head of litigation, Marco Scialdone, states [PDF]: "We are pleased to learn that Microsoft will provide a no-cost Extended Security Updates (ESU) option for Windows 10 consumer users in the European Economic Area (EEA)." Customers will still need a Microsoft account to secure the ESU, but Euroconsumers considers this doesn't violate the DMA."
Microsoft will provide a no-cost Extended Security Updates (ESU) option for Windows 10 consumer users in the European Economic Area (EEA). Users will still need a Microsoft account to secure the ESU. Previously Microsoft offered a paid one-off $30 ESU for a year after the October 14, 2025 end of support, and later proposed a free route requiring Microsoft Reward Points or Windows Backup syncing. Euroconsumers challenged the earlier conditions under the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Content Directive and cited EU sustainability goals. Euroconsumers welcomed the no-cost ESU but maintained that the one-year timeframe and sustainability implications remain unresolved.
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