Windows 10 LTSC 2021 Faces End-of-Life Milestone and New Update Costs

Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 LTSC 2021 will reach its end-of-life milestone on January 12, 2027. This means that enterprises will no longer receive free security updates for this version of the operating system.

The Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is available to continue receiving security updates beyond the end-of-life date. However, this comes with a price tag: $61 per device in Year 1, doubling every year until the program ends on January 8, 2030.

Organizations using Microsoft's cloud-based update services, such as Intune or Autopatch, can receive a 25% discount on ESU licenses, bringing the price down to $45 per device. However, those not using these services will have to pay full price through Volume Licensing or a Cloud Solution Provider.

The announcement comes as some enterprises continue to hold onto Windows 10 due to various reasons such as specialized applications or hardware setups that are not compatible with Windows 11. Microsoft has announced plans to optimize the code for systems with 8 GB of RAM, but this does not address devices excluded by its processor and TPM compatibility rules.