Windows 10: How to sign up for Windows 10 ESU, now rolling out

To sign up for Windows 10 ESU, open Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update, and click on “Enroll now.” Once you are on the Enrollment page, select Microsoft account as an option (it should be already selected if sync is turned on) or choose one of the other two options – Rewards or $29.99 paid ESU.



Windows 10 has already reached its end of support on October 14, 2025. The retired OS is getting its first Patch Tuesday update on November 11. However, the update is available only to those who have registered for Windows 10’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.

If you haven’t enrolled already, there are three ways by which you can receive security updates on your Windows 10 PC for an additional year, until October 2026.

What is Windows 10 ESU, and who is it for?


Windows 10 had a glorious 10-year run, but as it came to an end, there was widespread backlash from users who didn’t want to be pressured to upgrade to Windows 11. The newer OS also had a bad reputation for not being as stable as its predecessor. Windows 11’s strict minimum requirements were also a hindrance.

Either way, Microsoft responded with the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which is a free service, when availed, allowed users to receive critical and important security updates for their Windows 10 PCs, even after the official end-of-support.

Microsoft, of course, wants everyone to use Windows 11, but they also don’t want existing users to switch to other platforms, so ESU was the way to go. Windows 7 also provided extended support like this for three extra years.

But unlike Windows 7 ESU, which was limited to only enterprises, Windows 10 ESUs are available for home users as well. Microsoft calls it Windows 10 Consumer Extended Security Updates. For context, home user is anyone using a PC with a regular Microsoft account or a local account, not a work account.

However, ESUs for commercial users are available for 3 years at $69 USD per device for the first year, with prices doubling every consecutive year, until the end of the third year, which is when support stops altogether.

For home users, Windows 10 ESU is available for only one year, and fortunately, it is free. Well, almost free.

Eligibility for Windows 10 Consumer Extended Security Updates


Windows 10 Consumer ESU program is available for mainstream editions of the OS, including Home, Professional, Pro Education, or Workstation editions.

You’ll need to be on the latest Windows 10 version 22H2, and your device must have an administrator account.

Needless to say, your device shouldn’t have a work account associated with it; otherwise, you might see errors while enrolling for Windows 10 Consumer ESU.



Also, if you happen to be in any European region, you might see a prompt saying that Windows 10 ESU is not available.



Things work as they should for US users, though.

How much does Windows 10 ESU cost for home users?


For regular Windows 10 users, Microsoft offers the Consumer ESU program for free, but with a caveat. The ESU licence itself doesn’t cost anything, but Microsoft demands that you use your PC with a Microsoft account.

Once you do that, ESU activates automatically at no extra cost, and the enrollment lasts one year, ending in October 2026, after which your Windows 10 PC receives no more updates.

The good thing is that you can enroll up to 10 PCs per Microsoft account, which is plenty for a household.

But if you don’t want to sell your soul to Microsoft, and you insist on using a local account on your Windows 10 PC, it will cost you $30 USD. You can, of course, choose not to enroll in Windows 10 ESU and continue using the OS for free, but you wouldn’t get any security updates, and your PC will remain vulnerable.

We recommend that you enroll in Windows 10 ESU, and to do that, Microsoft gives you three generous options.

How to enroll in Windows 10 ESU for free


Ironically, enrolling in Windows 10 ESU for free is easier than the paid version, and it makes us believe that Microsoft values your data more than $30 USD.

To register for Windows 10 ESU for free, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. You will see the Update page prompting you to Enroll in Extended Security Updates. If you don’t see it, click the Check for updates button.

Click the Enroll now button, and you’ll see a pop-up where Microsoft tells you why you should enroll in Windows 10 ESU. Click Next.

To proceed further, you need to sign in to your Microsoft account. If you have been using a local account and don’t even have a Microsoft account, now is the time to create one. Note that you cannot proceed further unless you sign in, even if you are willing to pay the $30 USD to register Windows 10 ESU and run your PC with a local account.

If you are using a Microsoft account that has already backed up Windows settings in another PC, then Microsoft graciously shows that “You’re eligible to enroll in Extended Security Updates at no extra cost.”.

For context, the PC I’m using here has never seen my Microsoft account before, and I have been using it with a local account. But now, I have signed in with a Microsoft account that has already backed up Windows settings on another PC.

If you click Enroll, it will take a few seconds, and the registration process will be complete, with validity till October 13, 2026.

If you sign in with a new Microsoft account, or one that hasn’t already backed up your PC settings, Microsoft will give you three options:

1. You can back up your PC with this Microsoft account, following which you can enroll for free in Windows 10 ESU
2. You can redeem 1000 Reward points to enroll in ESU
3. You can pay a one-time fee of $30 USD to register Windows 10 ESU

Enroll in Windows 10 ESU by backing up your PC settings


Microsoft desperately wants you to use OneDrive to back up your Windows 10 PC, after which you can register for Windows 10 ESU for free. Funnily enough, OneDrive plans are just a fraction of the $30 USD needed to register for ESU to use with a local account.

It’s clear that Microsoft does this to create a direct path for when you want to upgrade to Windows 11, if you choose to do so. When you click to enroll in Windows 10 ESU, the top option is to back up your PC settings.

Microsoft says that you can “Save your settings, apps, and credentials, so you can move to your new Windows 11 PC”

You can select it and click Next, and in a few seconds, Microsoft will show you that you have enrolled in the Extended Security Updates.

However, in my test machine, I noticed that Windows 10 didn’t show the option to manually select the backup option or the other two options to get ESU. Instead, when I created a new Microsoft account and signed in to it, it automatically showed me that I was eligible to enroll in Extended Security Updates at no extra cost.

https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-co...gisters-your-PC-to-Windows-10-ESU-updates.mp4

There is no reason not to suspect Microsoft here, as I have double checked it and in both cases, I used a new Microsoft account and a relatively new Microsoft account, both of which didn’t already back up Windows PC settings, and both of which didn’t associate with any devices.

If this is a temporary issue, you might see the two other options.

How to register Windows 10 ESU for free using Microsoft Rewards


You can redeem 1000 Rewards points from your Microsoft account to register for Windows 10 ESU if you do not want to back up your Windows PC settings.

Of course, if your Microsoft account is new, it will take weeks or maybe months for you to collect 1000 Microsoft Reward points.

Click the Enroll now button and select the Redeem Microsoft Rewards points option. You’ll see a window that shows that you can get critical security updates on your Windows 10 PC till October 26, 2026. Click Redeem, and you’ll be enrolled in ESU in a few seconds.

Go to rewards.bing.com to check how many reward points you have in your Microsoft account. If you have been using Bing for a while, chances are that you’ll have well over 1000. And you can use it to register for ESU, that is, if the option shows for you.



How to enroll in Windows 10 ESU if you use a local account


If you want to use your Windows 10 PC with a local account, you still have to sign in to purchase the Windows 10 ESU licence.

After you sign in, select the “One time purchase” option to get extended security updates, which will allow you to use your Windows 10 PC with a local account.

Microsoft charges $29.99 for you to get one year of security updates, which may seem steep, but Microsoft doesn’t want you to spend money. They prefer you back up your PC with a Microsoft account.

However, this is the only way to continue with a local account. Click Next and you’ll see the price updated with the tax for your country. You can choose the payment option of your choice and click Buy.

After purchase, you’ll get a confirmation from Microsoft saying that you’re enrolled in ESU through October 13, 2026. Microsoft also suggests that you back up your PC completely in your Microsoft account. But you wouldn’t want to do that, since you paid to have a local account.



The ESU is tied to the Microsoft account you signed in with, and it can be used on 10 different devices. Now, to get back your Local Account, go to Settings > Accounts, and click “Stop signing in to all Microsoft apps automatically”.



As soon as you click, you’ll see your Microsoft account getting replaced by the Local Account. So, if you want to get ESU on other Windows 10 PCs (9 more devices), you can sign into them with the same Microsoft account, enroll in Windows 10 ESU, and then click “Stop signing in to all Microsoft apps automatically”.



Yes, it is annoying that we still need to sign in with a Microsoft account and pay $30 USD in order to register for Windows 10 ESU and use a PC with a local account. This is Microsoft’s way of making it as difficult as possible to make you use a Microsoft account on your Windows PC.

Remember that you’ll get updates till October 2026; post that, you may not get updates, so we recommend that you take slow and deliberate efforts to purchase a new Windows 11 device, or to get used to the newer OS.

The post How to sign up for Windows 10 ESU, now rolling out appeared first on Windows Latest

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Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

As you may already know, Windows 10 (as well as Windows 8) allow you to log in with a valid Microsoft account, instead of creating a local account that only works on your machine. However, you may prefer to keep a local account for privacy reasons. If you do, though, some Windows 10 features—like Cortana—may not work. Despite the default behavior, the Windows 10 Store is not one of them. You can still log in to your Microsoft account for just the Store without switching to a full Microsoft account. The process, however, is not terribly obvious. To do so, follow these steps:

• Launch the Store from your Start menu.
• Click the user icon next to the search box.
• Click “Sign-in” from the menu that appears.
• Choose “Microsoft account” and log in like normal.
• When the “Make it yours” box appears do not enter your password. Instead, click “Sign in to just this app instead.”

from Lifehacker

 

Unclear about Windows 7 Professional available for ESU

I have two machines running Windows 7 Professional. They are connected to scientific equipment that will not have compliant software available until 2021. The machines are connected to a network/internet. Is the ESU plan available for Windows 7 Professional
machines as listed in the ESU documents? If so, how can I purchase it? We are a small business and do not have volume pricing or enterprise planning.