Some Windows 10 users received urgent notices this week from Microsoft giving only a short window to accept an offer that will affect how and when they continue to receive security updates. The messages, reported by Forbes and confirmed to users across forums, have prompted confusion and alarm because they advise action within a narrow timeframe — in some cases described as 72 hours — to enroll in options that preserve security after the operating system’s end-of-support date.

The root of the scramble is simple: Microsoft will end mainstream security support for Windows 10 on Oct. 14, 2025. For organizations and home users who cannot or choose not to upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft offers an Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. Forbes noted that Microsoft clarified customers can opt into ESU at any point through Oct. 14, 2026, and that security updates missed between the 2025 cutoff and enrollment will be delivered retroactively once a device is enrolled.

Advocacy groups warn that the technical and financial barriers to upgrading are substantial. The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) warned that “nearly 40% of Windows computers still run Windows 10. Many of these PCs are fully functional, with only one flaw – they aren’t on Windows 11’s strict compatibility list.” PIRG and other consumer advocates say that requirement — which hinges on factors like TPM 2.0 and recent-generation processors — could create a two-tier system in which low-income users keep using older, supported software only if they can pay for ESU or replace hardware.

The scale is large. Millions of machines will face the choice of paying for extended updates, upgrading to Windows 11 where possible, or continuing on an unsupported platform that will no longer receive security patches. For enterprises, the ESU route has been a familiar but expensive stopgap; for households, the cost and complexity are less well suited to mass adoption.

Microsoft’s clarification that ESU enrollments can be completed after the 2025 cutoff offers some relief. Users who miss the initial window will still be able to receive the updates they missed once they opt into the program, a detail that undercuts some of the urgency implied by short-term notices. Still, experts caution that administrators who delay risk exposure during the interval before enrollment.

Beyond the technical specifics, policymakers and advocates are framing this as an equity issue. “If perfectly serviceable devices are forced into obsolescence by policy rather than function, that’s a policy choice with distributional consequences,” said an advocate familiar with the campaign for digital equity. Calls for lower-cost upgrade paths, longer free ESU periods for vulnerable populations, or government-subsidized replacement programs are likely to grow louder as the 2025 deadline approaches.

For now, consumers should verify any Microsoft notice through official channels, check their device’s Windows 11 compatibility with Microsoft’s PC Health Check tool, and consider whether prompt enrollment in ESU or a hardware upgrade is the prudent route. The broader question — how to keep millions of users safe without deepening economic divides — remains unresolved as the calendar marches toward October 2025.