Wednesday, February 19, 2025
HomeNewsMicrosoft ends support for Windows 8.1

Microsoft ends support for Windows 8.1

Also ended is paid support for Windows 7 enterprise users' security updates

On January 10, Microsoft officially ended its extended support for Windows 8.1.

Released nearly a decade ago, Windows 8.1 was the follow-up to the controversial Windows 8 and tried to address most of the issues that bedevilled its predecessor, including bringing back the start button and the ability to boot directly to the desktop/home screen instead of the divisive tiled Start screen.

Still, it didn’t calm all the nerves and it was soon replaced by the much more acceptable Windows 10 which started rolling out just 2 years later.

“After January 10, 2023, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for Windows 8.1. You might be able to upgrade your Windows 8.1 device to a newer version of Windows, but we recommend moving to a new PC that can run Windows 11 as the best option,” says a statement on Microsoft’s website.

This means that, at the time of writing this, individual users as well as corporate/enterprise users, are no longer supported on devices stuck on the said version of Windows.

Microsoft will not be offering an Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Windows 8.1. Continuing to use Windows 8.1 after January 10, 2023 may increase an organization’s exposure to security risks or impact its ability to meet compliance obligations,” says Microsoft in a tone directed at enterprise users.

While you could continue to use a PC running Windows 8.1, without continued software and security updates, your PC will be at greater risk for viruses and malware.

Also starting 10th January 2023, enterprise users can no longer pay for security updates for their Windows 7 machines.

Microsoft officially ended technical support and security updates for Windows 7 computers in 2015 but only ended extended support 3 years ago.

Windows 11, which Microsoft is currently pushing to all users, was released over a year ago and has several requirements that automatically lock out older machines running Windows 8.1 and other older versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating systems. Additionally, the Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 transition which was free, there is no free direct upgrade to Windows 11 from a Windows 8.1 machine.

Microsoft Edge and Chrome, two of the most popular web browsers in the market, are also ending their support for Windows 8.1 with version number 109 being the last update that users of either browser on Windows 8.1 are getting.

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

LATEST