A couple of months back, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 21H1 was reaching end of servicing (EOS) in three months. Earlier today, the company released its Patch Tuesday security updates for November 2022 for Windows 11, Windows 10, as well as for Windows 7 and 8.1.
Alongside the Patch Tuesday for Windows 10, the company also put out a reminder for the impending EOS status for version 21H1(Windows 10 May 2021 update). The announcement says:
IMPORTANT All editions of Windows 10, version 21H1 will reach end of service on December 13, 2022. After December 13, 2022, these devices will not receive monthly security and quality updates. These updates contain protections from the latest security threats. To continue receiving security and quality updates, we recommend that you update to the latest version of Windows.
Mabel Gomes, Senior Communications Program Manager at Microsoft, published an article on the Microsoft Tech Community forum today reminding users of the same. While such Windows 10 21H1 devices will automatically be updated to the latest supported Windows version (unless they are being blocked by user input somehow), Microsoft also reminded people that Windows 11 is available for upgrade in case of eligible devices. The company mentioned its new Windows 11 22H2 feature update quite a few times throughout the post as it seems to want more Windows 10 users to get on the Windows 11 train. It says:
We will automatically update devices nearing end of servicing to the latest version of Windows 10, but you can opt to upgrade eligible devices to Windows 11.
[..] Windows 11, version 22H2 – also known as the Windows 11 2022 Update – is available to you on eligible Windows devices.
There is a good reason why Microsoft keeps reminding users of Windows 11. The latest data suggests that only 15% of people have upgraded to Windows 11 from Windows 10. The strict system requirements for Windows 11 have kept many users away. For organizations, it"s a big challenge and even a whole year later, only about half the systems are Windows 11-ready according to data from a massive scale survey.