Microsoft to provide security updates for M365 apps on Windows 10 for three more years

Mary Jo Foley is the Editor in Chief at Directions on Microsoft. Before joining Directions, Mary Jo has worked as... more

Microsoft has announced it will provide security updates for Microsoft 365 apps running on Windows 10 until Oct. 2028, rather than until Oct. 2025, as planned.

The company published an article on Microsoft Learn announcing the change on May 8, 2025. (Thanks to Neowin for the original link.)

Microsoft 365 apps would have continued to work on Windows 10 after Microsoft support ends for the operating system on Oct. 14, 2025, the company acknowledged, but they would have run unsupported. To try to deter customers from running these apps on Windows 10 after support ends, Microsoft officials have said running these apps on an unsupported OS could potentially cause “performance and reliability issues.”

Microsoft is now planning to provide security updates to the Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 until Oct. 10, 2028 “to help maintain security while you transition to Windows 11,” the Learn article notes. The new security update also applies to the subscription versions of the Project and Visio desktop apps, official said.

The new security update extension does little, if anything, regarding Microsoft-provided support for M365 apps running Windows 10 after Oct. 14, 2025, the Microsoft Learn article says.

If a customer with a valid Microsoft 365 subscription has issues with their apps, they will continue to be able to open support cases, but Microsoft support will provide only troubleshooting assistance. “Technical workarounds might be limited or unavailable,” the article says. Whether or not customers on Windows 10 have ESUs, they do not have the option to log a Microsoft 365 apps bug or request other product updates.

Will Windows 10 Get a Security Reprieve, Too?

Directions on Microsoft has asked Microsoft if there will be a similar three-year pushback on the date when security updates will no longer be provided for Windows 10. No word back so far.

Update (May 13): A Microsoft spokesperson declined to answer the question we posed and instead provided a link to an April 2024 Microsoft blog post on when to use Windows 10 ESUs.

We’d point out that Microsoft provided an additional three years of security updates for Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 7 when Windows 7 was approaching its end-of-support date.

Given that Microsoft has announced it will be selling Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for three years and to consumers for one year, we’re thinking a delay on the end of support for Windows 10 seems unlikely. Microsoft is charging commercial customers USD $61 per device for Windows 10 ESUs for the first year, with the price doubling Years 2 and 3.

However, if there are a substantial number of Windows 10 business and personal PCs still running after Oct. 10 this year, the security risk caused by these systems will be substantial. Various market watchers have estimated that fewer than 50 percent of Windows PCs are running Windows 11. Microsoft is continuing to advise customers to move off Windows 10, either by upgrading to Windows 11 on eligible PCs, licensing Windows 365, or by buying new PCs that support Windows 11.