[German]A little information for our readers regarding Windows 10: It was become public this week that Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10 licenses on January 31, 2023, to consumers within it's own online shops. There is a notification in Microsofts online store, where licenses can be purchased, that the offer will end on January 31, 2023. Here are some information and thoughts on the subject.
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A German blog reader had already pointed out the topic to me some days ago. PC World noticed that in Microsoft's stores, the pages for purchasing licenses for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro, there is a banner with the following message below the offer:
More about Windows 10
January 31, 2023 will be the last day this Windows 10 download is offered for sale. Windows 10 will remain supported with security updates that help protect your PC from viruses, spyware, and other malware until October 14, 2025.
There is a notice that the download of Windows 10 on this website will only be possible for a few more days and that the distribution will be stopped on January 31, 2023. Of course, Microsoft asserts that Windows 10 will continue to receive support in terms of security updates. The operating system will still be officially supported until October 14, 2025 (LTSC variants till 2029). The banner contains also a link "Learn about Windows 11". German site deskmodder.de writes here, that the banner in Microsoft's shop has been shown since ende of October 2022.
The bottom line: I think the end-of-sale banner has no practical relevance at all. The discontinuation of the sale only affects the Microsoft offer itself. Those who desperately want a new Windows 10 license could look to third-party vendors to see what's on offer. No idea if small resellers who build computers in-house procured the licenses this way.
The bulk of end-user buyers go to a retailer anyway and buy a PC or notebook that comes with an OS. New systems at Aldi or Media Markt are sold to the people with Windows 11 preinstalled (but often with weak hardware). However, good machines with preinstalled Windows 10 Pro are quite cheap in the refurbished market. This group of buyers is therefore eliminated.
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Those who now think they still have to have Windows 10 for an older machine simply have other options. If a Windows 7 SP1 or a Windows 8.1 was preinstalled, the upgrade to Windows 10 should still work with the license keys of the previous Windows versions. In addition, there is the possibility to buy used licenses of Windows 10.
For the enterprise environment, I assume that OEMs or volume licensing customers will continue to be served by Microsoft or it's parnters with Windows 10 licenses.
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