On 14 October 2025, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10. Plenty of PCs in Ghanaian homes and offices are still running it. They still work, but whether they still get security fixes depends on one thing: enrolment in Microsoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme.

For home and personal PCs

  • Microsoft offered three ways to enrol a personal PC in ESU: free by syncing your PC settings to a Microsoft account, by redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or with a one-time payment of US$30.
  • The programme was due to end in October 2026. In June 2026 Microsoft updated its support page: consumer ESU now runs until 12 October 2027, worldwide. Enrolled PCs continue automatically, and you can still enrol until that date.
  • Microsoft's page says there is no consumer extension beyond 12 October 2027.

For business PCs

  • Organisations buy ESU through Microsoft volume licensing at US$61 per device for the first year. The price doubles each year, for a maximum of three years after end of support.
  • ESU is bought by the year, and the years are cumulative: join in year two and you pay for year one as well.
  • ESU is included at no extra cost for Windows 10 running in some Microsoft cloud services, such as Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop.

What ESU does not do

ESU delivers security updates only. There are no new features, no general fixes, and no technical support from Microsoft for Windows 10 itself. To receive updates the PC must be on Windows 10 version 22H2. A PC that is not enrolled has had no security fixes since October 2025.

What we recommend

  1. List your PCs and note which run Windows 10, and whether they are enrolled in ESU.
  2. Check each one for Windows 11. Many PCs bought in the last five or six years qualify; the PC Health Check app tells you.
  3. Upgrade the ones that can, after backing them up.
  4. Plan replacements for the ones that cannot, and spread the cost over the time ESU buys you, rather than replacing everything in one month.
  5. Keep enrolled PCs updated in the meantime, and keep unenrolled Windows 10 PCs off sensitive work such as banking and payroll.

Teknikal Ghana supplies business laptops and desktops and handles upgrades and data migration in Sekondi-Takoradi. If you want help sorting out which machines to upgrade or replace, request a quote.