We're now just over 10 months away from the end of support for Windows 7, which is scheduled for January 14, 2020. Today, Microsoft announced that it will start sending notifications to those still using the decade-old operating system to warn them of the change.
Referred to as a "courtesy reminder", users will see these notifications multiple times throughout this year, although they'll have the option to not see it again. The idea is to make sure that users are aware that after January 2020, their operating system will no longer receive updates.
Of course, businesses have other options. Those that subscribe to volume licensing or Microsoft 365 enterprise plans will have the option to pay for Extended Security Updates (ESUs). This will be offered for three years, with increasing prices each year. It's also not available to regular consumers.
To some, this could sound familiar to Microsoft's first push to get people off of Windows 7. Back in 2015 and 2016 during the first year of Windows 10's launch, the firm distributed the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app to try to get people to upgrade for free. The app was also infamous for its common pop-up notifications and varying methods to get people to upgrade their machines.
But this is not GWX. According to Microsoft, this will just be a friendly notification that reminds you that support for Windows 7 will be ending soon.
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